San Francisco Peaks sunset

Taken from the rim of Sycamore Canyon.   Click to enlarge

There's a snake in my boot!

Here's some shots I got a couple weeks ago.  I caught two black-tailed rattlesnakes uh, getting intimate.   (click to enlarge)

I was walking to one of our trapping sites, and tossed an apple core into the bushes.   I heard the faintest rattling noise, so i had to investigate.  After some careful prodding, I spotted a large, greenish snake.  When i bugged it a little, it began to slither away and I noticed another, smaller snake underneath it.  cooool

This was a little intimidating, as i do not have a good zoom lens.  I was about 5 feet away, crouched low to get this shot.  They were both rattling intermittently.  

The were both large snakes.  Biggest rattlers i've seen for sure.  

Eventually, they'd had enough and the smaller snake retreated into a woodrat midden that they had probably overtaken recently.   The larger snake started slithering right at me!  This was the last shot I took, because the snake in the foreground meant business.  I got outta there quick, and let them do their thing.   

I'm sure happy with the photo's I got though.  I thought it was a unique interaction.  Getting the shots with an element of danger present is always rewarding.   

That night I had a dream about getting bit and wandering around delirious on the California coast, and no one would help me.  Not even Bill Murray...