Toto We Are NOT City Folk Anymore

I had to go out with my husband and take a picture of the creepy crawly beast that terrified me. Also to just confirm that it truly was a rattle snake. This is from the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks online site: "Of the ten snake species that live in Montana, only the prairie rattle-snake is venomous. Also known as the western rattlesnake, the prairie rattler is found in open, arid country and ponderosa pine savannahs. It often dens on south-facing slopes in areas with rock outcrops. Rattlesnake bites are extremely rare. Of the hundreds of thousands of hunters, hikers, and backpackers traversing Montana each year, only five or six report being bitten, according to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver. The center also notes there was not a single death among the 45 reported prairie rattlesnake bites in Montana during the last eight years. The prairie rattlesnake is a medium-sized species with venom glands that harbor only moderate amounts of venom. Nevertheless, prairie rattlesnakes have the ability to deliver a dose of venom lethal to an adult human. That's why anyone who spends time outdoors in Montana should have at least a passing awareness of snake-bite first aid. Rattlesnakes are shy, retiring creatures. If left alone, they won't bother people. But if a rattlesnake thinks it will be stepped on or otherwise harmed, it may bite. These snakes are armed with a pair of hollow, hinged fangs that fold back against the roof of the mouth. A rattlesnake strikes most often on the hand, calf, or ankle, leaving one or two small fang marks. When bitten, a person will likely feel intense pain at the bite area. Other symptoms may include difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, swelling, and gangrene." So to conclude from my last post, this creature was at the corner of my rental house, next to a lilac bush I had taken some clippings from earlier in the day. I walked past him and spotted part of his body going over a wooden fence rail after I had crossed in front of him a minute before. While the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks says we should leave them alone and observe them from a distance, I felt he was too close to our house and children. I had my husband take care of him. Wishing this was my last encounter with snakes, but since this incident I have seen 2 more snakes. Thank goodness these are non-poisonous and called garter snakes. Still I jump and run when seeing anything slithering and crawling around me. So Toto I don't think we are City Folk Anymore.

Snakes Alive but Better to Me DEAD

I usually post pictures I run outside and shoot as the sun is going down or coming up or when the storm clouds gather. Montana is truly spectacular and a vision of a masterpiece. Yesterday however, I experienced a first (and hopefully last)of coming very close to a creature I have truly feared in my mind since a child. A snake . . . but not just any snake, the one that rattles. I didn't get to hear rattles as this was one huge critter and part of his body is still under the brush in the corner of the yard at a piece of picket fencing. Don't know if I want to be the one to remove him from his resting ground, but he has got to vacate the premises. Once I spotted part of his body going between the rails on the picket fence I ran into the house and called my husband to come see. He went back into the house and got his shotgun and put a bullet where it was needed.

As a youth in Tennessee, my foster family had a weekend getaway trailer on a piece of property on Signal Mountain. Within walking distance was a fishing pond where we walked to and then blazed a trail through a little thicket (trees/brush) to get to its banks. I never went alone as my brother (11 months younger than me) was my traveling buddy. We had fun and even some minor injuries as I pierce his ear once with a fishing hook (all the way through) and then tried to catch his backside. But what ended my trips was when we spotted two large water moccasins in the water coming close to us. I refused other trips after that. The experience never deterred Robert from continuing trips there and through the woods. Then we also had a distant foster relative as a youth bitten by a copperhead on his finger a little later. He required steroid treatments for years to combat the poison and it changed his body dramatically over his teenage years. I remember always being fearful of opening drawers in the trailer because stories had been told of how snakes can get into a house and like to get into drawers. Even had a foster aunt that went to open her front door after an outing only to have a black snake fall on her head that had been resting on the door frame. Don't know how she managed not to have a heart attack as Aunt Myrtle always seemed old an fragile to me. Then my final snake tale other than yesterday's experience, is a dream I had a few weeks ago. My family had been to see a place that is for sale just before the dream. The living room inside had the darkest forest green carpeting that looked almost new. Well, in the dream I was inside this empty house again standing on the green carpet and a cobra (as plain as watching a movie) was coming at me when I startled awake. I told you snakes bring fear in me!! I didn't forget that dream. Don't know how to interpret it or if interpretations of dreams are even real, but this was a nightmare I don't want to have or live again. So to me Snakes Alive but Better DEAD. Don't know if I want to have these on a dessert either -- candy snakes

Montana Outdoor Views

Okay, so I did it again. I grabbed the camera and took photographs from different views around our place.

It amazes me how the skies and colors are always changing.

Of course, I couldn't resist taking some pictures with trees in them. I find them beautiful and strangely like animated characters -- always moving around here with the help of the winds.

Caught some sights of a storm/rain passing over in the distance this evening as well. The local farmers aren't talking about how dry everything is these days. We are even having some chilly nights with near freezing temperatures.

My boys and I are planning on spending some time later this week painting on our neighbor lady's picket fence as shown in the picture above. We are making it all white again and even have to throw on some coats of primer as most of the paint has worn away over the years.

These last photos were from my running outside again as the sun was setting. I put these up on Facebook and a high school friend wrote "and this is why they call Montana Big Sky Country". Yes, Kris it is and I will keep running outside to snap shots of this natural scenic art.

Country Lawn Mowers

Thought I would show you how we conserve and save on those high gas prices -- we have country lawn mowers. These characters show up every day on our lawn and do some munching. They stay a little longer when they don't get spooked. I carefully opened 2 doors and hung my digital camera out sideways to capture these photos. These sheep are known as hair sheep and are known as improved as they don't need sheering but they shed on their own. This first picture is of the leader to the bunch. He doesn't like to have his picture taken and I was pleased to capture him at the foot of our front steps.

There are four in all that come to visit. Another one is a new mother and stays pretty close to the shed out in the field on the property. I would love to snap a picture of her with her little one.

Montana Stormy Skies

With Spring arriving, we have been experiencing a fair number of days with gray clouds rolling overhead. I stepped out onto our back porch and snapped a few photos to show how massive these look here in Big Sky Country. Even with "bad" weather I think there is beauty seen here. Hope you like these pictures.