This time it wasn't frogs...

I've stared death in the eye plenty of times, but usually it was in the form of something that was going to attack my arteries like a bacon cheeseburger or an extra slice of all the meats pizza or a 3rd (maybe 4th) helping of mac and cheese.  Each time I have walked away the victor.  Last night was no different.

It was around 11pm or so and Robert had just taken Sammie (our dog) for their nightly walk in the front yard.  They hadn't been outside for more than just a few seconds when he came back in yelling for us to come outside quick because there was a snake in the yard.  He seemed more excited than scared.

I immediately armed myself with the most important thing I could grab...my phone...for its camera.

Usually Robert and Sammie encounter frogs when they walk out the door, so this was a step up on the excitement meter.  I was expecting another rat snake or something like that.  And at first glance, that's what I thought it was, but as I inched closer - not too close, I'm no dummy - I noticed that he was a bit thicker than a rat snake or other garden variety snakes that I've seen before.  It was at this point that I "speculated" that he was a rattlesnake.  I inched closer still.

I had the flashlight in one hand and my phone in the other.  At one point, being the daredevil that I am, I tucked the flashlight under my chin so I could hold the camera phone with both hands.  The outside lights already lit the front yard up enough so I could see the snake reasonably well, but I couldn't make out if there was a rattle on his tail or not.  Even shining the flashlight on it wasn't enough.  Robert took the flashlight as I continued to close in to make an accurate ID.

Keep in mind that when I say I was getting closer, I was still 7 or 8 feet away still.  The snake stayed still.  He didn't seem interested in me and wasn't rattling its tail, just sort of sitting there, assessing things.  I don't remember if I got a little closer or he moved his tail just enough that I could see a stubby rattle on it.

VICTORY!  I'd seen and identified him as a "rattlesnake".  For me this was a first.  I'd never seen a rattlesnake in person outside of a zoo.

My first rattlesnake, a Timber Rattler

He eventually turned around and slithered into a large group of azaleas that circle an oak tree in the front yard.  Yes, you read that correctly if you read, "Craig and Robert fought off the mighty snake and sent him cowering back into the bushes."

The coward running away

So ends my first "venomous" snake adventure.  I'm sure there will be more as life in Georgia is like living in Australia.  Almost everything down here can kill you, from the gators and snakes to the moonshine.  Stay tuned...