Ciblek Mania

About a week ago, Phoebe greeted me upon my return home from work with the news that she'd spotted the first copperhead of the summer. This is big, if expected, news. The copperhead was near the garage door, heading into a chipmunk hole. We waited and watched it for the next two hours. It was waiting for nightfall. We were waiting for it to come out so we could catch and relocate it.

Eventually it came out, while I was standing near it talking on the phone. I'm not sure who was on the other end of the phone, but they heard me scream out "The snake's outta the hole!" as I was hanging up.
We caught the copperhead and placed it in the bucket (shown above). It now lives in another place, far from our high-traffic garage.

I don't mind snakes, but I HATE being surprised by them. Where I am staying right now in Trinidad there are three deadly poisonous snakes in the jungle around us. Fer-de-lance, bushmaster, and coral snake are my three neighbors. They belong here—I am just a visitor. I hope to see one or more of these creatures, preferably before they see me, and, from a safe distance. So I'm being extra careful as I walk the forest trails around Asa Wright Nature Centre. No sightings thus far.

This place is amazing, even with the snakes. You can read more about AWNC here. And I'll be posting more from and about Asa in the days and weeks to come.

Last fall I was invited to speak at a wildlife diversity meeting sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife at Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. One of our field trips involved going out with a rattlesnake expert who tracked timber rattlesnakes using radio telemetry. He had captured several rattlers and was fitting them with tiny tracking devices and releasing them. Before the snakes were set free, anyone who was interested got to hold one. The snakes were safely ensconced headfirst in a clear plastic tube. If you held the tail, they could not go forward through the tube, nor could they back out of the tube. It's about the safest way you could ever hold a venomous snake.

Venomous snakes give me the willies. It took every ounce of fortitude/turpitude/attitude/rectitude/stupitude to grasp the snake's tail and the tube and hold it for a few minutes. But I got-r-dun.

Thus, thanks to Shutterbug Science Chimp, we have a photo of me in a trancelike state, holding the snake tube.

Have at it, blogzillas. Please continue to post your captions here. The winner will be chosen on Monday, January 19. A fabulous prize will ensue.