Sleeping Rattler

This sleeping rattle snake was no problem. I was watering the oleander when I noticed this coiled up rattler getting wet. It never flinched from its mid-afternoon nap. Shari called Rural Metro and presto! The snake barely moved as the fireman scooped it up and plopped it into a plastic bucket.

Things have changed, the fireman told us, since Rural Metro dumped their collected rattlers at Reddington Pass.  See Mileage Marker 4. It seems Fish & Wildlife did not approve, so now the Rural Metro firemen dump snakes a mile or a mile and a half up-wash from where they are removed.

"How far do these rattlers range?" I asked the fireman.
"About a mile or so."

I suppose we may be seeing this critter again. If it is still like Sleepy of the Seven Dwarves, should be no problem.