I’ve been reviewing some photos I took this summer and found one that makes my day.
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Two weeks ago, I wrote “Omens on My Forty-Ninth Birthday” - a poem pondering what it might mean to find a rattlesnake (and later a toad) as I marked the transition to my elder years. But I also had to deal with the practical matter of removing the rattlesnake from the garden (not without snapping a few photos though). In the heat of all that and the business of bringing in the garden harvest since, I didn’t realize I achieved what I’d been longing for all summer: a clear photo of a flickering rattlesnake tongue.
I’m not so happy with the background, but the garbage pail we use for snake removal did make it easier to get a clear shot. After taking this picture, I carted the snake off to the canyon rim, poured it out and let it get on with its life.
For more on the joys and challenges of rattlesnakes in the garden, read Northern Pacific Rattlesnake: Species of the Week.
Great shot! What a beautiful animal… And at least the background demonstrates your respect by capturing and relocating the snake.
Good to know there’s someone else out there who can appreciate the beauty of a rattlesnake. Thanks for the perspective on the background. I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I like it.
[...] Elizabeth Enslin of Yips and Howls had the presence of mind to safely capture and relocate a gorgeous rattlesnake she came across while tending her garden. Pop over to her site for a peep at the snake and to hear about her momentous day. [...]
Glad to hear that your first reaction was to relocate; that often doesn’t even occur to people.
Here via House of Herps.
Thanks, David. It comes from being a lifelong snake-lover. With the expensive tongs I bought for the task, relocation is actually pretty easy.
Beautiful photo of that snake..a belated Happy Birthday.. My Hoh post..
Exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs
Thanks. I hope to get more rattler photos next summer.
Elizabeth, Wow! You’re brave! I like to see the little garter snakes I sometimes
find in my garden, but a rattler is something else again!
Brave, I don’t know. Crazy is probably more like it. I’ve always liked snakes and can’t help being fascinated by rattlers.
Maybe expensive tongs are a better option than our homemade hook device. Hmmm…
I agree– there’s something very deliberate and different about rattlesnake tongue-flicks. It sometimes seems to me you could ID the snake by that motion; others seem to be quicker.
Nice post, Elizabeth.
I’m very happy with the tongs. How wonderful to meet someone else who appreciates flickering rattlesnake tongues. I wonder how many of us there are in the world.
What a beauty! Great shot. You just have to keep on taking photos and eventually by the law of averages you will get one with the snake’s tongue out – works for me anyway
Thanks, Celeste. I count on the law of averages in all my photographs. The ones that turn out are mostly accidents.