Nate doesn’t kill rattlers, instead he talks to them and says sorry for trespassing whenever he meets one. He must have a soft spot for rattlers and humans who behave similarly?
Poetry, Prose & Thoughts by Nathan Arizona. Established August of 2000.
Nate doesn’t kill rattlers, instead he talks to them and says sorry for trespassing whenever he meets one. He must have a soft spot for rattlers and humans who behave similarly?
Good man, Nate. I, too, would never kill a rattlesnake. I try not to kill even the lowly mosquito, or any life form.
There is wisdom here! Leave them along, unless of course you’re hungry.
I’ve always had an “ok, no problem, everything’s cool” attitude with them. We’ve been section hiking the PCT and have now seen quite a few. Even my wife, who started out snake phobic, can now take them in stride. They pick the dammest places though, sometimes when there is no possible detour around them. In those cases I give them a little encouragement to move with the hiking pole.
On the big ones, it is so obvious that they have absolutely no fear of anything. They definitely have an attitude, “Don’t mess with me”.
Nate,
I wrote a bit about rattlers in my latest post on a hike down into the Royal Gorge – the “rattlesnake capital of the universe”. . .hope you have a chance to check it out (it’s in the first part of the narrative!)
Gambolin’ Man
gambolinman.blogspot.com/2009/08/royal-gorge-first-annual-russell-towle.html