Rattlesnake post.

This post is about the venerable Pit Viper the Rattlesnake. There are several species found in San Diego County and the one that was encountered today on my mountain bike ride was the Western Red Diamod. I think it is just a Western Diamondback with another name but I am not a verified Herpetologist.

The ride was going to be a 30 mile round trip out to Sycamore Canyon and Marthas Grove from La Mesa yet we cut it short when a snake similar to the one pictured was almost run over by me. He struck at me because my buddy rode by him while he was sunning himself on the road and startled it. by the time I went past about 3 seconds later he was scared and ready to strike. I crapped my pants when I caught it out of the corner of my eye lunging at my leg and bike as I whizzed by. I was sure that I got hit but luckily did not. I can imagine the nightmare that would of insued if I had! I jumped of my bike and checked my tremoring leg several times over as I watched the snake flip out into a bush. It was literally flipping into the bush. He was pissed!

I had so much adrenaline that I couldn't be sure that I didn't get bit because I had caught the end of my handlebar with the back of my thigh when I jumped off my bike and was "freaked" that is where he bit me. We decided to head back, well I made that decision. Two Rattlesnake sighting in two hours and having one strike at me was enough. (plus there was alot of mud)

Back to the first snake we saw. It was HUGE (pic). I had not seen a rattler in the wild in a long time and he was the biggest I have ever come across. About 4 feet and as big as my arm. The photo doesn't give it much perspective.

I encountered him on the main fire road on Cowells mountain where there were alot of hikers. We coaxed it back off the trail and put a rock Hoodoo by it and told the people we saw to watch out and spread the word. I think the memory of the first while I was encountering the second is what was so unnerving.

Also included is the recent photo and article of the recent World Record find for a Western Diamondback. Wow! And a pic of the potential damage that a rattlesnake bite can do to a human besides killing you. After doing some research there are alot of factors that go into the severity of a bite (if you get hit) . Did the snake have time to "load" his fangs with venom? Did he penetrate skin? How deep? How long? Time of year may influence the toxicity of the venom. Spring, like now, is the worst. Then there is the personal reaction to the venom. Either way I am sure glad I didn't have to realistically assess ANY of those questions.

Watch out!

But it is hard... I just dont want to and that is why it is. Its a matter of Retraining my mind to accept as habit. The more I do the more I see that it is a good habit. Listening to Pretties for You. I hold it in high acclaim yet it fly's under the radar most always. Red Rover can make such good sense.

Ok enough nonsense. Worked on Landscape #2 today and blazed through it. Most of the time is spent I guess making the canvas and getting it right.

My neighbors are tweakers and loud. I mean who has a dog in a studio apartment? The always have weirds over and I cant figure out WTF is going on. I just wish they were quieter.

My BBQ/ Bowl Birthday Party was fun. Threw a 130.

Job hunt tomorow. Just suit the fuck up and show the fuck up!


35 years young.

Food Poisoning. Violent. Deathly. Best Excuse.

However Before I succumbed I took some pictures.

Quote by me: "You can't judge a book by its cover but you sure can judge an album by it."

This guy and his shirts. . . . well, I can relate. Im just not as much a nerd. Pretty fun read though.
http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-life-in-t-shirts.html

Turns out that I like his entire blog and visit it frequently. What a geek!

THIS photo clearly represents my theory of the usefulness of antlers for Caribou, Elk, Deer etc...

Its almost a sixth sense for them. As if they are able to interpret radio waves. Cosmic waves.

The photo is off of "Pyramids" album.

Its so easy..

But its not. I woke up today with a list of short stories that I have not written. They are accounts from my own experiences and tangents of fantasy. The list was only in my mind until now, but the list was only a grouping of titles to the short stories. "The Rainmaker" "Subterfuge" and one other were the only ones I recall. Not much for a first post huh?
I spent the rest of the day researching an old Phoenix, Az mafia hit and trying to find out some information on another grisly murder to no avail.
This murder has haunted me from time to time to the point that I dont even know if it was real. As a child in Phoenix I recall Channel 5 doing a story and showing photos and video or something on a kidnapping and murder of a young teenage girl. I dont know why I think of it from time to time. Maybe because the "internet" is supposed to have all the information you want at your fingertips and the memory of that news broadcast is so vivid that I just want to "google" it. Whatever the reason is, I found nothing. Total waste of a few hours of my life typing in horrific key word searches in Google. Then on to the FBI website for a look at the jobs that I trick myself into believing I am perfect for.
I did call Yolanda back at Helix to check in with her since her call to me on Monday. I got her voicemail of course.
Since I have found blogs very interesting from time to time I decided to document my "Excitement" from day to day.

Enjoy.