Shake, Rattle & Roll

This weekend we bought some stuff, saw some elk, oh, and a few snakes…

The 100 Mile Yard Sale did not disappoint! We shopped for hours on Friday morning, bringing home a wrought-iron patio table and chair set, some huge home grown tomatoes, a chainsaw sharpener and some spools of wire. (Go ahead and guess what I bought versus what the husband bought.) The heat was no joke, my friends. The minute you stepped out of the car, you were dripping sweat.

The heat kept the wildlife tucked safely in the forest during the day, with the exception of the few brave souls I was able to grab some pictures of.

This toad was being shy!

Later that same day, I was heading inside when something in a similar location on the deck caught my eye.

“There’s a snake under the porch”, I said to my husband. Then we both realized, it was a RATTLESNAKE!

Holy. Freakin. Gosh. I don’t like snakes. I get it, they’re important to the ecosystem, they control mice and what have you – but they give me the shivers.

This guy (girl? I don’t know. Turns out determining the sex of a rattlesnake is a job for a professional. It involves a probe – so, no thanks. I’m saying this was a guy.) didn’t stay long. We saw him slithering (eww, even the word gives me the shivers) into the backyard.

He didn’t seem to know we were there at all, he didn’t rattle or become defensive, so that’s a good sign. We’ll be sure to be diligent coming in and out of the house now for sure!

We saw a few elk in the evening (my evening photography skills leave a lot to be desired, so hang tight) and some deer.

But the snakes, my gosh the snakes. We saw a few squashed on the Quehanna Highway, heading out of Benezette on Sunday night too.

There was a gentleman out of his car photographing a rattlesnake as it crossed the road. That snake was NOT interested in being photographed, so I got to hear him rattle!

We had our first guests in The Sapling this weekend. They also encountered some rattlers while they were out hiking.

Until next time – have a good week and keep your eyes open!

Leave a Reply