Altadena Hiker
A Hot Date With a Rattle Snake
Lessons from a rattle snake that we really should apply to global warming.
Here’s the thing about a rattlesnake: It doesn’t rattle. When preparing to strike, a rattlesnake sounds like a sputtering lawn sprinkler. And that’s why, last week, I took a step closer, wondering who would turn a sprinkler on at night, in the hills above Altadena, on a trail in the middle of nowhere. Then I saw a small hose, perfectly coiled -- quite unlike my garden hose at home – with a spitting nozzle. Well, hello… So rather than take one final step, I hesitated. It would be nice to say my dog made some sort of heroic gesture, that he backed up or raised his hackles. But no, he was his usual oblivious self. If anyone saved us, it was the snake and the rattle, or sprinkler-like sound. I spun around and walked away. This whole …
Cafe Pasadena
9:56 pm on Sunday, September 25, 2011
If women would only react to the other snakes in their lives just as promptly as you did to this particular species. more ›