Things in Texas Will Bite You

[Furby]

Yeah, I got bit by one yesterday...... INSIDE!
Had wet feet from the snow and slipped/fell down my parents steps.
Still alive though.

[asy]

Tammy opens all our mail.

Well, WDH, it's been real nice gettin' to know ya...

Nice Snake, but, compared to what Tammy would do if ya REALLY sent it on to her, I'd cuddle up to the snake. Coz yer in TRUBBLE!

asy

[WDH]

Asy,

Not nearly as bad as those King Browns you have.  No cuddling with those; the wrath from Tammy would pale as compared to those BAD Aussie snakes .  And those Browns are not even the worst .

[Texas Ranger]

Furby, 28 Degrees in Texas is the same as 28 degrees up nawth, freezin.

[asy]

Nope, they aren't...

There's also Death Adders...  And the piece de resistance...  The Taipan...

We have death adders theoretically on our farmy, although thankfully we haven't seen any sight of them... yet...

VERY thankfully we don't have the Taipan in our area. Well, OK, Technically we "could" because we're right on the very southern tip of it's distribution, but realistically, not likely.

Anyway, this is the Land of Oz, you always assume any snakey is a bitey snakey. Unless they're a green tree snake, and they's preeeeety distinctive.

asy

[customsawyer]

Great pic. there WDH. I am glad it was you that found it since I wouldn't have even been looking for one at 28 degrees.

[WDH]

We saw the little rascal in the afternoon after it had warmed up some.  The morning before, we had to scrape the frost off the windshield, that was when it was below freezing.  A day later, I would have never imagined that I would see that snake.  Just goes to show that one must be vigilant and not make too many assumptions .  At least about snakes and Texas .

[ely]

i think like jeff does when it comes to snakes, i know i read somewhere on here about his definition of a good snake.

[WDH]

Making it a "Good Snake" never even entered my mind.  I was too excited about seeing such a beautiful creature.  It was just trying to make a living, like we all do .

[Tim L]

I'll take the snow . If I lived in your neck of the woods I'd carry my 12 gauge 24/7 ! The only good one is a dead one ! The same goes for Florida gators , I'd stack em like cordwood ! Can I get an Amen from my northern brothers ?

[isawlogs]

Is there a time of year when they are outsomewheres and not around ... like here in winter .   
 Not having any around while growing up ( well other then those little garden snakes and some brown ones that swim .. )  I guess makes me worry 'bout them some scares the [I have typed a profane word that is automatically changed by the forum censored words program I should know better] outme is more like it . I sure would would like to enjoie them more , but I only really enjoie them once they stop movin' !!!

  Maybe with the global warmin It da freeze down there and then I could go down and visite for a short spell .

[asy]

The snakes here go into hibernation when the daytime temp gets under about 25C.

Soooooooo winter is a good time to visit.

asy

[WDH]

Asy,

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit your beautiful country to benchmark logging systems in 2003.  I was out in the woods with some of the State Forest Foresters of New South Wales (in the Snowy Mountains east of Wagga Wagga and south of Tumut), and naturally I gravitated away from the group to the native forest to look at those beautiful natural eucalypts.  I was cautious, having grown up in the Southern US, and it was instinctual to look for snakes.  I had read up some on Australia, and I had discovered that of the approximately 160 of snakes native there, there were about 120 venomous species!!!  We have only 4  .

Anyway, after leaving the group and looking at all those gorgeous trees, I came back and asked them why, in the safety orientation, that they never mentioned snakes.  One of the foresters was even wearing shorts (no snake leggings).  They said, "Oh yeah, this is King Brown country."  It was Old Hat to them to know about the snakes, like knowing how to walk and to breathe.  So, this forester said that he had even been bitten by a King Brown .  I paid even closer attention to the ground after that . 

We even saw brumbies (sp?).    I had the best beer that I have ever tasted, had mutton shank and mashed potatotes, meat pies, and the best hospitality known to mankind. 

But, I never forgot about those King Browns.  Some other time I will have to tell you about the kangaroo chasing incident .

When I get to my other computer, I can post some pics (sorry, no pic of a King Brown ).

[Tom]

Well, it's just plain dangerous down here.  We've got all kinds of animals that will eat you for dinner.  To make it worse, we've had an influx of environmental wackos come in here from somewhere that have installed rules and regulations making it against the law to mess with the wildlife, and then they left.  We don't see as many around here as we used to.  Most of'em got 'et and the rest ran for their lives.  Those of us that were raised with the snakes and gators find them an annoyance but most of us appreciate them as long as they stay out of the house.

There's still a bunch of marketing carpetbaggers that are trying to get folks to move down here and play at Disney or live in the big cities they are creating.  Don't fall for it.  It's a trick.  They just want your money.

[WDH]

Well said Tom, its a trick .  Too hot anyway and the grits are not very nourishing.  Snakes in the house really get the women cantankerous and fractious. 

[Tim L]

Im going out in a few minutes to work on my old plow truck . Its a fairly safe bet that when I crawl under there I'll be alone !