It's Matin' Season ~ for the Timber Rattlesnake
© A.Mac/A.G.
The timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, or banded rattlesnake is a species of venomous, sometimes highly venomous, pit viper endemic to eastern North America. Came across this critter on a road in the Pocono Mountains this passed weekend. Looking for
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What's shakin'?
Great photos, Mac. I'm not into snakes, but, respect that they also have a place in our world.
Please...don't 'bite me'.
Was bitten by a timber rattler on the leg when I was a kid.
Still have the scar.
Still have the nightmares.
Still have a snake phobia.
Still carry a snakebite kit in my vehicles.
What's shakin'?
These are shakin'
But what is it you're looking for?
Snake, by D.H.Lawrence
Very interesting story, Buzz. Thanks for sharing it with us.
To start Thursday off....
One of my very first creations
Your images are great, right from the beginning.
Thanks Buzz. I love Buckeye wood burls, and combining the two just seemed to be a good match.
That is a very interesting image.
Thank you, G.
just, wow...
Thanks dev.
One of my favorites, Raven.
I am really glad it is one of your favorites. If I remember, it was one of the first creations I posted in the Anishinaabe group when I first started posting my artwork.
Sunset...
Beautiful photo, EG.
Stunning EG. Where was it taken at?
It was in some bird sanctuary out in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin last year.
Oh WoW! That is a truly awesome shot, EG. The reflection of the varied colors of the sky on the water below is amazingly beautiful.
Oh, that is a BREATHTAKING sunset.
Still Life with Vegetables
© G. Gam
oh, yeahhhhhh....
Yeah, bro...
Well done Mr. Creative.
Ha! Thanks, Kavika.
Your best one yet!
Wow. Thank you.
That is a real beauty, G. Your ever expanding creativity is just awesome. Keep up the good work. It's a treat for all of us.
Thanks, Raven Wing.
Damn. AGAIN my comment disappeared. Trying again...
Due to those colours, could be called "Forbidden Fruit". With the editing that you have been developing, you are getting to the level of competing with the famous painters.
Thank you. That is very nice.
That is very nice. Is that a cabbage? Why yes, it seems it is.
Thanks, CB. It's a cabbage, a couple of zucchinis, an onion, some tomatoes, peppers and corn. They were sitting in a big bowl on the kitchen counter having just been washed. After I took the photo my wife cut them all up, except for the corn, and grilled them on the barbeque!
HA! I do recognize my cabbage!
The heron is eyeing the turtle while the duck cruises by. The turtle won when the heron pecked it and it didn't bother the turtle who just swam off.
Stone Creek, Ocala, FL.
That's a great photo, Kavika. And gives a good view of the varied forms of wildlife that calls stone creek home and their relation with each other.
The turtles always win, don' t they, well especially because of what they represent.
Not a Timber Rattler but a juvenile black racer. Good snake to have around since they keep the rodants population in check.
Stone Creek. Ocala, Fl.
I read they were doing the annual Boa hunt down there.
Yes, they did and they got one that was 18 feet. The damn things are destroying the Everglades.
Check out the video.
215 lbs. Holy cow.
Good shot, Kavika. Certainly not all snakes are venomous, the same with spiders, but, it is a good idea to learn which ones are before keeping company with them. (grin)
I've been in a state of war with spiders for almost 40 years. they started it.
Hmm here ..just regard them as all poisonous and that way you can't go wrong...
Having lived in East Texas for a number of years when I was very young I was terrified by Tarantulas and Black Widows, which were very big and and intrusive in the houses there. I woke up one morning to find a large Tarantula on my pillow next to my head. I was so terrified that would not sleep in that room for months. That experience made me scared to death of spiders of any kind. But, as I grew older I learned that not all spiders would harm me and I became less afraid of even seeing one. I even had a 'hoppie' that lived in my apt and followed me around from room to room, and repelled down its silk to hang in my face while I did what I was there for, or dropped down to crawl around on my desk when I was working at my computer. I twice put the thing outside thinking it would find it a better choice, but, not long afterword it would wind up back inside and continued its keeping me 'company'. It never made any aggressive moves toward me so I just let it be. Unlike the Black Widow I found in my closet one morning. Nope. Not happenin'. I didn't feel any remorse at sending it to its spider heaven. (shudder)
Same here. They may not like me as much as I don't like them, so no reason not to think they would not harm me, even if they are not venomous. However, there was a garden snake that called my garden home and followed me around when I was tending it. It did not scare me as much as the horrid looking tomato worms with big teeth that it chattered at me what I would sometimes run across while working there. Ewww!
Nope not happening re Tarantula (Huntsmans are also called that here)..
One ran across my hand covered it completely and that was it..hairy and sticky legs.. ahhh never again...
The cat will eat them if given a chance..
Most snakes don't deserve their bad reputation, because of the good that they do. I think the Adam and Eve story ruined their reputation right from the start. When I was a kid, I used to play with them in the ravine behind our house. Good thing there were no rattlers.
Ack. I can't stand snakes.
ditto
Morning Ender..rather a snake than a Huntsman spider any day... can't stand them and detest them big time when they are in the house. Some grow the size of a plate..
Have a nasty habit of dropping on you. Still I don't kill them use the old icecream and cardboard trick and chuck them outside..
Doing my bit for Mother Nature though she pushes it at times...
Drop on you? I would freak out.
Ain't that the truth! I respect that all types of living creatures are part of our world we share. Like in the human species, there are good ones and bad ones and it is a good ideas to know which is which. Even some of the bad ones still serve a purpose for our ecosystems.
No bloody kidding especially at night...had one run across the bed. Just about took the door off the hinges getting out of the room.
Was in hospital once on pain killers thought hundreds were coming up the bed...it was good stuff!! All I could see were legs waving around and bodies...was out of bed sweeping them all off..the nurse wondered what the heck I was doing..
Nope give me a Joe Blake (snake) any day...
They all serve a purpose here... but sometimes just wish they would go and do it somewhere else..like not in my house...
Koala grunting out the front at the moment..saw two chasing each other yesterday...Spring has sprung early so lots of little fozzies are going to be around...
When I was young and I told someone I saw a spider, they would say to stay away from them as they were bad. So I grew up thinking all spiders were bad. As I got into my teens I learned that not all spiders were bad, just a nuisance at times.
I had someone tell me that about caterpillars.
Friday's new one....
Morning Raven... absolutely gorgeous Raven... what a great way to start the day..
Thank you, shona. Glad you like it.
Very nice image. Is that a Dream Catcher in the tree?
Thank you, G. And yes, it is a Dream Catcher formed in the tree. I was waiting for someone to notice it, and you are the first. (smile)
Raven, that is magnificent. I noticed the dreamcatcher when I first saw the image, before I saw GG's comment - what is its significance in the image?
Just something left to everyone's own imagination.
Then my imagination says that the dreamcatcher has permitted the penetration of the rest of the image, because the rest of the image is a GOOD dream illustrated.
Good guess, Buzz. As the image features the woman abiding peacefully with both the Bald Eagles and a wild Wolf, which in the real world would not likely be the case, it could mean it's the woman's dream world.
The MONARCH BUTTERFLY at the intersection of the left vertical third and the bottom horizontal third (compositionall perfect), has an interesting iconography; In a nod to their life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to butterfly, monarchs can represent transformation and rebirth to some people. They might view a monarch sighting as a sign of upcoming change or a new direction in their life.
Great image, RW!
Thank you so much, Mac. I did want to subtly inject a bit of NA lore, and you are the first to mention the Monarch Butterfly. (smile)
Morning.. speaking of snakes they have just found some giant Tiger snakes (in the top 10 most poisonous) living on Chappel island in Bass Strait off Tassie..
They are a lot bigger than what's on our Mainland but appear to be more laid back we are told ...they are growing up to 2.4 metres and researchers came across 40 in a day...
The island is uninhabited and can only be reached by air... and that suits me just fine..
Looked them up, and they do look similar to a Tigers' coloring. I bet they don't get many tourists to that island. (grin)
This evening cloud formation, Stone Creek, Ocala, FL.
As I've said before, your sky is a kaleidoscope.
Love the bright sun bouncing off the dark clouds above. A great shot!
Glorious! Love the Jacob's Ladder.
I like that interpretation.
So you see it to, excellent.
Images with crepuscular rays of light have often been referred to as "God Shots".
Once again for Saturday....
How BEAUTIFULLY you blended the wolf into the burl.
Thank you, Buzz.
Since the article is about snakes this is a photo of the largest Burmese python captured in Florida and it was just a month or so ago.
Oh, wait, that's my neighbor's dog that came over looking for a treat.
I am guessing that one doesn't have deer hooves in its belly...
No he doesn't but a 90 lb pitbull is nothing to mess with.
C'mon, with those big brown eyes?...
He is a sweetheart but is very protective of his ''family'' our neighbor his wife and grandkids.
I dare say he will not take 'No' for an answer, either. (grin)
He will sit there and stare at me for hours if that is what it takes for a treat.
Lol! The look in his eyes does state bluntly his determination to get a treat. Ha Ha
LOL
And timber rattlers in particular, this is sad
That is really sad. A man that was an expert and ambassador for the timber rattlers.
RIP
Yes, I saw that on Microsoft Bing News this morning as well, and thought about this article. Rattlers were his sword, and I guess it applies that when one lives by the sword they die by it - an unfortunate and sad result in this case.
Look at that face!!! He really wants that treat.
They are little salmon bites and now that I give him one when he comes to visit and visits are now daily sometime more than once a day. LOL
He sits there with Wiki our mini doxie and they both look at me like they haven't eaten in a month.
Perfect little beggars.
And one for Sunday......A different version of the Three Sisters
The most intricatly decorative image of "The Three Sisters" I've ever seen.
Thanks Buzz. Glad you like it.
Ok, it is a little weird to me that I cannot find anything on it now. Anyway, one of our souvenir shops had a really big albino Boa. The thing was huge. They kept it in this big glass enclosure in the store. The thing had to have been at least 15ft. Was wide too. I guess it was kind of like a mascot and an attraction.
They left the thing in its enclosure in the store (which sits on Hwy 90) during hurricane Katrina. We were of course devastated and the shop was destroyed.
They finally found the poor thing (I say that as I hate snakes) dead on the beach.
It is weird that I cannot find articles or pictures of it. People were upset yet I guess to them the snake was too big to move.
So this is a story with no available pics. Sorry.
Very sad story, Ender. Some people seem to never consider what might happen in a disaster such as a fire, flood, tornado, earthquake and other such major disasters when choosing shop critters.
This is what you get when you're talking too loud on your cell phone.
Stone Creek Ocala, FL.
"Hay Moo!"
"Yeah Cow"
"Moo...I can't believe they said that!"
"Shudup Cow....I can't hear what they're saying."
(couldn't resist)
LOL, good ones, Raven.
Be careful what you say. One of them could be an FBI operative.
HA, perfect.
Evening...did you hear him say something about a barbie (BBQ)??
I hope not...LOL
I don't have anything new to post, so just use your imagination.
Too funny.
Empty thoughts.
A massive blizzard?
Arvo...drawn a blank there Buzz.
Hilarious.
It's a little busy.
LOL!!
Good night all.
My Dawg, Gracie
© A. Mac/A.G.
If Gracie's personality is as beautiful as her looks, she has to be the perfect dog.
I think that people that rescue dogs deserve a special place in heaven.
Beautiful Gracie is a rescue by Mac...
Well done, Mac.
She is so cute!
Very soulful eyes.
Your Gracie is as beautiful as she is cute. Her adorable little face just lights up my heart.
Well done! And we know it is done with a great amount of detail and love!
Prepare for a challenge next weekend
I did this a number of years ago, and hope that this time it can attract some participants. The challenge is to post photos you have taken and/or artworks you have created to match that adage "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue".
I will be posting 4 photos to illustrate those 4 topics.
Thanks to all! See you Thursday.