Mar 19, 2009

PSF - Spring and a rude visitor

Tomorrow, March 20th, is the first day of Spring!
I'm sure those of you that live in the snowy regions of the country are really looking forward to the change in seasons.

So in honor of Spring I wanted to share with you some beautiful orchid shots I took the other day at the botanical garden.

I love this one because it looks like it is smiling!

I find the orange and yellow colors in this orchid really soothing.



WE INTERRUPT THIS PLEASANT
post about lovely flowers to bring an unpleasant and unwelcome visitor to One Crafty Mama's backyard!!!

Yes folks....that is a western Rattle snake! As I was preparing this post about orchids I was interrupted by the loud barking of my dogs and the extremely loud warning shake of a RATTLE SNAKE!!

After getting the dogs inside (had to use a piece of chicken to bribe the stupid Chihuahua away from the fangs of death), I grabbed my camera and telephoto lens and zoomed in on the area where the dogs had been barking.

There were some intense moments until I found him. Make no mistake that I could hear him loud and clear!

Once I found him I snapped a quick picture and then ran across the street to get my neighbor Mark. Yes, I to can play the damsel in distress!

My wonderful neighbor came over, wrangled the snake onto a rake and dropped him in a plastic trash can. Then he took it down the canyon and released it.

I'm sure you can all imagine what was going through my head as Mark tried to get the snake (which took 30 minutes to capture)? I was doing what any good blogger would do. I was wondering to myself if it would be rude to run in and get my camera so I could document the snake wrangler!

I chose to hang out and be supportive!

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

46 comments:

Wayne said...

hey great photo friday, I love the smiling flower.

Jen said...

Holy Cow, I would have totally freaked out and would still be hiding under the bed. I can't even look at a little garden snake.

Christina said...

I LOVE the pictures of the orchids - they're my most favorite flowers. And, way to go on getting rid of that pesky rattler.

Indrani said...

Lovely orchid shots!
Be careful of those slithering creatures.

Girl Tornado said...

OMG, hearing the rattle would have totally FREAKED me out! I'm sure my day is coming out here in rural-land, and I walk around the house way too much in flip flops.... is that dumb or what??! Glad you got the dogs to safety in time. ;) Oh, and the orchid pics are really, really pretty too. I think the rattlesnake upstaged them just a tad...

Anonymous said...

My hubby has been known to toss pebbles at a rattlesnake just so that it would coil and "wait" for me to see it! Unfortunately, I am NEVER duly appreciative of his efforts....

Cathy said...

Love the pictures of the beautiful orchids. Can't believe you were close enough to take a picture of the snake...I would have been 3 states over...:-)

Chris said...

HO.
LY.
Crap!
How big is that thing? It looks huge!

Nice to see that your blogging instincts are in full vigor.

sara said...

the orchids are beautiful!!! the colors in them are amazing!

the rattle snake story cracked me up. I grew up in AZ so we had many of these stories growing up. But I had to laugh at the mental image of the chihuahua trying to take on a rattle snake!

lsnellings said...

OMG, that is frightening!!! Glad no one was hurt! Beautiful flowers!

Sandra said...

that snake is so lucky it was in YOUR BACKYARD!! Cuz... I'd be wearing a brand new belt right now...


OHHHH. i HATE SNAKES!!!

scrappysue said...

you are FREAKIN' kidding me!!!!! i am so terrified of snakes. at least in new zealand we have NO NATURAL PREDATORS - thank goodness!

gorgeous orchids btw

yikes - snakes!!!

Anonymous said...

That would've brought the damsel in distress out in me too! Though I am sure the men around here would've grabbed a pistol faster than a rake! ;)

Liz {Learning To Juggle} said...

And that is why I love living in Rhode Island...absolutely no poisonous snakes!! Oh...and good thing for good neighbors!!

Rhonda said...

holy friggin heck! I would have been SO SCARED! Can I get a Holla for mark?? GOOoooOOo MARK!!! He saved the day!

tiarastantrums said...

I HATE SNAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cecily R said...

I think I might have nightmares tonight....that would FARRRREAK me out! I can handle bugs and spiders but NOT snakes.

Thanks for cushioning the snake post with the beautiful orchid shots though...WOW they are gorgeous!

Casey's trio said...

EEK!!! We get snakes in out area too and I am terrified of my girls coming across a rattlesnake. So glad your neighbor was able to get him out of your yard!

latree said...

you are a real blogger, beat your fear to get best picture.

a snake is to freaky for me.

Mandy said...

EEEEKKK! me + snakes = run

Tina said...

OMG, yikes!!!!!!! Snakes scare the crap out of me!!! I would have run across the street too!!! Beautiful pictures of the orchids!!!

Jennifer said...

Glad your neighbor could help, Michelle! That's a lucky snake. Around my house, if it is poisonous, it doesn't survive.

Danyele Easterhaus said...

i'm sorry...you took a picture! and your neighbor wrangled the snake! seriously...are you wearing like steel clothes? you couldn't pay me to do that! good pic though

Unknown said...

The orchids are beautiful, the snake, not so much! EEK! Good for you for getting your neighbor to help you.

I once saw my Grandma kill one with a large ax on her farm. She was a brave lady.

Leah said...

whoa!! no snakes!

kayerj said...

good call, on being supportive!

great story as well

Momma@Live. Laugh. Pull your hair out said...

YIKES!! Snakes and myself do not enjoy one another.....we get some in our back field and my boys run over them with their dirt bikes........by accident of course

Karen said...

OMG! You just made me gasp out loud! I would not have handled it THAT well. I was the weird damsel in distress who went to the apartment offices when there was a palmetto bug in the bathroom!

Autumn said...

Ack! I hate snakes! Great PS Friday.

Debbie said...

Yikes! That is scary. Great job getting his photo though.

Mamarazzi said...

YIKES!!! holy cow that would have FREAKED me out!

i DO love the pics of the beautiful flowers though amazing!

K said...

whoa.
IMpressive!!
At this point in my life, I think even a rake might be a little bit too close for me and Mr. Rattles.
Stay safe in the wilds of CA!!
:-)

Lindsay said...

You're a better person than I am! I would've taken a gun to the snake if I'd been there (and had a gun). I don't do (poisonous) snakes.at.all.

Anonymous said...

OMGosh I would have been terrified of them getting my doggies. We have a couple different kinds of poisonous snakes but we don't see them often at all.

Momisodes said...

LOL! I love that you stepped away to grab your camera! Definitely a hardcore blogger :)

I would have been shakin' in my boots!

Kim Dellow said...

gorgeous flowers, so beautiful. We don't get many rattlesnakes here in London :) Kim

Claremont First Ward said...

Incredible orchid shots.

I cannot believe you had a rattler in your back yard. I would have FREAKED!

nikkicrumpet said...

Wow how scary....When I lived in Utah there were rattlesnakes in the mountains and the deserts but they never came down into the areas where most people lived. I'm so glad it didn't bite your dogs! I'm not afraid of snakes...in fact I think they're pretty cool...but a rattlesnake in my yard would freak me out. You're lucky to have such a great neighbor....but I still would have been snapping pictures lol

Live.Love.Eat said...

Oh I have chills up my spine. We find snakes here but a fraction of that size and not rattlers so I can only imagine what you were feeling. Do you garden out there?

said...

It does indeed look like it's smiling! {the flower, not the snake}

Rhonda said...

Holy crap!! Okay, I'll keep the snow. Seriously. No freakin way am I living with rattlesnakes.

Jenners said...

Holy Cannoli! Now I'm not jealous of where you live anymore ... I don't have to worry about rattlesnakes here! I would have FREAKED OUT big time. How scary.

And I love your orchid photos -- they look so surreal and weird.

Shannon said...

Yowza!


I'm glad the only unwanted visitor I have to watch out for is the occasional rogue rooster! HA!

Shannon said...

Oh, and I like your orchid pics! That top one... like you said, it looks like it's smiling! Reminds me of the "Alice in Wonderland" movie, where she meets the flowers...

Heather said...

i stopped to take pictures this weekend because of the pretty flowers that have started blooming here. orchids are my favorite flowers, but we don't have any in our gardens.

and yikes on the rattle snake! glad you have a great neighbor, and i'm more glad they don't make their home in our area!

Unknown said...

I would not be happy to find that in my yard! But those orchids are divine!! We got an inch of snow on the first day of spring - like God is laughing at us. :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...