This little ankle biter (18 inches) had just shed his skin on our patio within a few feet of the Kittywalk with the cats in it! The thought of it crawling into their enclosure made me shiver. I had never thought of that possibility so I plan to keep an even closer eye on them from now on. I would never consider killing any snake so I coaxed the little guy into the wash where he sat rattling his tail at me while I took pictures.

That’s 3 rattlesnakes in 2 days! The other two were good sized but were on the dirt road by the trail. Since several of the flowers I want to document won’t bloom for another two weeks, I plan to be more than a little cautious while hiking!