Rattlesnake wanting to read is found outside Auntie’s Bookstore
Customers told an employee that a snake was slithering around parked cars. The employee went out to see, and sure enough it was a rattler. She tried calling all the usual wildlife-related agencies, and as fucking usual none of them were “able” to deal with it because of fucking Endangered shit. Turns out the owner of the car knew a non-official snake lover, so they called him. He had the proper tools and skills, and took it out into the wilderness. (I suspect there’s more than coincidence… if the owner had been visiting the snake lover, one of the snakes could have decided to hide in his car.)
I didn’t know we had ANY snakes around here, let alone rattlers.
The article says gopher snakes are fairly common but rattlers are rare. I’ve been walking regularly for 35 years, paying attention to the ground. I’ve seen bugs, slugs, earthworms, plants, squirrels, birds, cats, dogs, skunks, deer and coyotes. Never a hint of a snake or turtle. I figured it was too cold for reptiles.
The article finishes with another cute touch:
The Spokesman-Review attempted to reach the snake Wednesday but was unsuccessful.
They just earned a subscription. Since the SR converted to nonprofit, it’s been much closer to non-partisan and much less contemptuous. My enjoyment has been gradually incrementing, and this bit of deadpan self-parody ticked it over the threshold.
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Speaking of birds, for several weeks I was hearing a complex and tuneful bird singing a question and answer. During the past blessedly cool week, those sounds have been completely replaced by a GPS bird that simply announces its location over and over like a Morse airport beacon. TREE TREE TREE! TREE TREE TREE!
I doubt that one species was suddenly replaced by a different species over a mile-wide range. More likely the same species is talking about a different subject now?
Polistra's Mill 