OPEN FORUM: Snakes

By DELMAR LEATHAM

Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Winters here
And……the snow won’t go away

Winter seems to be hanging on for our northern neighbors and, like a bad guest, just won’t leave and go home.

Meanwhile, here in our valleys the tortoise have come out of their burrows and are menacing drivers on the roads and by-ways. They dart from cover, and much like a dog, they chase cars just in slow motion.

The snakes have also crawled from their dens and after fasting for the last six months are now looking for a free meal. They slither away from their dens in a straight line until they detect the movement of small rodents. Once they are confident that they can obtain a free meal, they lie in wait ready to seize the first rat that wanders by their place of concealment. After a summer of feasting, they will head back to their winter dens to share their hunting stories with their friends.

This pattern of activity is not confined to snakes. We see it each summer as Congress adjourns for the summer and our elected representatives return home looking for donations. In the fall they return to Washington D.C. fat and happy ready to share their tales of exploit with their colleagues.

Look for the warning signs of their return. Your mailbox will become stuffed with fairy tales and smiling portraits from pictures that were taken long ago. Hold on to your pocket book and your common sense.

I have encountered many real-life snakes here in the region. They are for the most part harmless and help to keep the rodent population in check. However, there are times when I have encountered a rattlesnake. Small sidewinders are everywhere and can easily be missed if you are not keeping a sharp lookout.

I was once on a job in the sandhills and when I stopped for lunch, I took a seat on the tailgate of the work truck. As I was eating my lunch, I looked down between my feet and saw a small sidewinder coiled up in the sand trying to stay warm. I scooped him up with a shovel and relocated him a safe distance from the truck. I made certain to point him toward Washington DC.

Early in my career I read the electric meters on Radio Hill. It is also called Beacon Hill which is located on the north side of the I-15 near the Logandale/Overton exit. I was walking up the narrow path when I heard the loud buzzing of a rattlesnake. I stopped in my tracks and searched for the snake. I could not see him but he could see me. There was a large rock about a foot in front of me so I leaped up on it and the rattling stopped.

I finished reading the meters and started back down the trail. I picked up a long wire and began poking and probing under every rock and in every crevasse. As I poked under a rock near the trail where I had first heard the rattle, out came a four-foot-long diamond back rattler. He was not very happy but he did crawl away headed toward the eastern part of the country.

During the fierce summer storms that befall us in the desert, lightning will often strike a power pole and cause a power outage to customers near the strike. During one of these lightning storms, I was called out to check on a power outage at telephone towers located on the hill five miles east of the Ute-Byron I-15 exit.

My partner and I made the 45-minute drive to the site and stepped out of the truck with our flashlights on. There was no moon and the heavy cloud cover shut out the little starlight that was available.

As I walked toward the meter box to check the power, a large rattler began buzzing at my feet. I yelled to my partner to turn on the trucks headlights and to help me locate the snake. As the headlights came on, I spotted the snake a foot or two away from my feet. He began crawling away and to my amazement when he reached a nearby bush, rather than crawling under it, he climbed up thru its branches and down the opposite side.

As you spend time in the out of doors this summer, keep your eyes and ears open. Its not the snake you see that will get you. It’s the one you don’t see. And it just might be the one that crawled up on a campaign poster.