According to wikipedia, there are 22 species of venomous snakes in Arizona. One of these snakes that is shared between AZ and my hometown in Texas is the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. If you’ve never seen one in the wild, it looks like this:
If you’ve never seen one in the wild, you are like me 2 hours ago. I went for a little hike this afternoon and stumbled upon this guy in my path right before I got back to my car. Fortunately, I saw him before I was upon him, even though he was off the trail when I first saw him and was a bit hidden. So we managed to stay a respectful distance from each other. Here he is blending in well to the desert flora:
So it’s rattler season in AZ folks, watch where you step on the trail.
Update: I have acquired a hedgie-cam and can now spy on my animal while I’m asleep, which is when they’re most active. Last night I caught her pushing the toilet paper roll on her head, which is a classic hedgehog move. Enjoy:
The song of the day, for no particular reason, is Ok Go’s The One Moment.