Snake!

Once upon a time (well yesterday), a baby rattlesnake was slithering along a canyon and up a hill.  At the top of the hill was a little drainage canal that had water and lots of yummy frogs in it.  As it explored its new home, it fell down a rock face and onto some soft dirt.  It explored the yard, ate a lizard and found a nice sunny place to rest.

I was talking on my phone outside and saw the rattlesnake weave into these rocks and curl up against the fence.  I showed Jake and his brother Patrick.  We called Animal Control and a brave woman arrived about a half an hour later.  She had a bucket and a grabber on  a long pole.  She scooped up the snake and put it in the bucket.  Then she was kind enough to answer my questions about it and let me take pictures.

It's a baby- they're actually the most dangerous. It's too little to hear the rattle and they don't know how to regulate their bite, so they can release a lot of venom. This one just ate; see the bulge in its middle? I think she said it was a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake. This kind of rattlesnake looks like other kinds of harmless snakes.  Because it's so little, it's tough to see the rattle.  Besides the rattle, another telltale sign in the large diamond shaped head.  The body tapers at the neck and tail; most snakes are the same width for their entire length. 

She said she would take it to Mirimar, a Navy/Marine base here in town that has quite a few wild spaces.   We live on a hill that connects to a canyon that connects to  large regional park, so having a snake in the yard is something we expect.  As we listen to owls, and frogs at night, watch hawks land on the roof or in nearby trees, see bunnies eating the grass on the hill or see coyotes on the street, we know that there a positives and negatives about all this wildlife.We've really tried to instill in Sophia that if she sees a snake she leaves it alone and gets mommy or daddy. I'm glad I saw it and not her.  Maybe we've had other snakes in the yard and not even known.

We wish the snake a happy life with all those Marines and are SO glad it's out of our yard!

A nice spot to rest!

Safely captured!

This is the grabber contraption that the woman used.

See the diamond-shaped head and the tapering at the tail and neck?

Bye Bye!