Communing with nature

A quick note while Griffin is in his “office.”

Yesterday Munch and I took a long walk out at Sawyer Camp trail. The Munch, amazingly, slept for most of it – almost two hours. The air buzzed with bright blue dragonflies, and, surprisingly, we shared the trail with very few others.

As I was charging along, I found our path interrupted by a snake and came to an abrupt halt. It had a rattle attached to its tail, so I thought I would give it the right of way. I indicated to a man coming the other way that he might want to do the same, but he charged right up to the thing.

“How beautiful. You don’t see them too often around here. And this guy’s a biggie – he’s been around for a while.”

Okay, we got a tough guy naturalist here.

“Don’t worry, they eat rodents. They’re not interested in humans.”

Sure, but I think I will keep my distance just the same. “As long as you don’t startle it, I suppose,” I offered cautiously. I figured this guy had been around plenty of rattlers and was using the opportunity to show the nervous mom that she should relax.

Then the kicker:
“Hey, what’s that on its tail?”

Me: “Uh, a rattle.”

Him: “OH!” (steps back) “Not so nice then,” He hurries his step and continues his walk.

Goodbye, Mr. Tough Guy.

Is it the rattlesnake’s fault that it is a rattlesnake? Does that make it “not so nice?” I would venture that all critters are equally nice – we just need to treat them with appropriate respect. Except mosquitoes. Those little bastards deserve death and destruction. And snails.