Saw our first rattlesnake up close and personal yesterday evening while out on our walkabout with the dogs. Luckily, Arlin had decided to walk Chester on leash outside the fence while he threw recently cut low hanging branches over the fence to inside so we could pick them up easier. When he came back in the pedestrian gate near the mailbox, Chester wanted to stay on the leash for some reason, Fritz had already veered off back toward the chickens in the Firehouse, and Ella continued on in front. She was sniffing at a hole, as usual, when we saw/heard what could only be a rattler. Amazing how senses and mobility work simultaneously: we heard, saw, called Ella away, and moved back all at once in a split second. For those of us who wondered if we would recognize a rattlesnake if we came across one, that question was answered with a resounding YES.

So now Arlin is mowing more rattlesnake abatement.

However the abatement tactics seemed to draw the rattler closer to the house. We were walking the perimeter to see the results of Arlin’s mowing and the damn thing was under a tree to the left of where Arlin was mowing. He must have driven right over it, or almost. Fritz found it this time and I sent Phil and Arlin out with picks and shovels (sort of like the villagers going after Frankenstein) and my intrepid heroes came back with it. It’s in a bucket in the vegetable garden in case anyone wants to come take a look. As Arlin says, the only good rattlesnake is a dead rattlesnake.