Thursday, April 23, 2009

Texas Monthly

Not much to report today other than I did an hour long phone interview with a writer from Texas Monthly this morning. I am to appear in an upcoming issue on their page entitled "The Horses Mouth". (and no, Chuck....it's not called the Horses Ass).

The sun was blister hot this morning...could really feel the UV pouring down. Not even a whisper of wind. Had another batch of thunderstorms and finally some high winds blow in this afternoon. I was ready but only got another couple of drops. Could see smoke from a huge brush fire 50 miles north near Calamity Creek.

Thanks for the comments on my cowboy poem. I just started my second one...extolling the virtues of an alarm clock free lifestyle. Saw my first snake of the year at the Field Lab(that makes 4 sightings in 16 months)...anyone care to identify it?




10 comments:

Mr_Brown said...

JW,

Looks like a Great Plains Rat Snake also known as an Emory's Rat Snake. Although it's a little tough to see because the picture doesn't have a large version so see the head and tail up close. They are non-venomous and are often times kept as pets. But if you get bit and swell up like bloated goat remember ... I could be wrong.

Ben in Texas said...

you said "that makes 4 sightings in 16 months" You are not looking!!! my experience with rat snakes is, they are not afraid of nothing!!! Will chase you down and only way to stop them is a 12 ga.. But don't wound him,, you will just Piss him off!!

MsBelinda said...

Ahhh!!!!!!!! I am terrified of snakes...I will probably dream of it tonight.

Allen Hare said...

John,
I do not know the type of snake, but, all snakes are benificial to the ecosystem they are in. They are eco-friendly pest control. I hope you are not one of those types who hate, and kill snakes. They are good to have around, just not in your house!

Nat said...

Allen: no worries, John's shown his good nature toward all creatures over and over on this blog. Except maybe chickens--I see a lot of them turning up in the solar oven dishes. :-)

John, I bet you'd find a mess o'snakes if you crawled around under those shipping containers.

Nat

charlie cooper said...

John


Looks like a Sonoran Gopher Snake or a close relative found near you the Christmas Mountain Bullsnake/Gopher Snake. No venom, can be aggressive though and act nasty. Pretty animal.

Charlie Cooper

Carl in Houston said...

that looks like a very specialized snake, Elaphe fieldlabius. lives in remote areas of west texas, eats mostly chicken and bread grown from solar flowers. smart, curious, non venomous and often seen co-mingling with longhorns or news crews. he should fit right at the field lab... :O)

Thunder Britches said...

John,
Your post--what you said, actually made me bust off laughing! CONGRATULATIONS!! You are actually starting to get a real authintic funny-ass sense of humor..which is, if you didnt know...the main prerequisite to become an "authentic Texan" !!
OH...the snake? That is what you call...a "dead snake". Any snake, is a dead snake!! DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE.

WrethaOffGrid said...

That looks like 2 snakes, one behind the other. Could it/they be a rattlesnake?

ps for those who want to see the image larger, use Internet Explorer, press ctrl and + at the same time, of your settings are right, the image (and the text) will get larger, click crtl and - to make it smaller.

Anonymous said...

we call it "dinner" in the sticks of NC.