A young rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) decided to hang out just outside one of our back doors. We had a  small brush pile on the deck, a result of recent planting bed clearing. When it came time to move the brush pile, we got a surprise.

I’m pretty certain it’s a Western Rattlesnake, but please correct me if you know what it is.

Young Rattlesnake

It’s been very hot recently, although we’ve had a bit of cooling, mind you. The highs have been in the 90s. The temperature on the deck though, in full sun, easily tops 100.

The snake didn’t move. I think it was too hot for it. It just stayed curled up. We put the brush back and decided not to mess with it. When we checked the next day, the snake was still there.

Now, at our house, we have an agreement with snakes, especially venomous ones – we don’t mess with you and you don’t mess with us. I know some people who promptly kill any and all snakes. Snakes play an important role in the environment, mainly as predators of animals which we consider to be pests, such as rats and mice. We try to leave them alone.

This rattlesnake was quite small. I think it was about 8 inches long. Since it hadn’t moved appreciably, I decided it was a good opportunity to get some photos. Afterward, we carefully swept it into a container and escorted it to a large ranch which borders our property. Nothing prevents it from coming back, so we’ve kept an eye out for it.

Everything in our local landscape is brown and crunchy right now. Interestingly though, some of our plants are blooming. We have a large crepe myrtle and here’s a close up of one of it’s blooms. The deep red, almost wine color is beautiful.

While not a native, it certainly well-adapted, and is very common in our landscapes.

Crepe Myrtle Flowers

We also have some lantana in bloom right now. One of our varieties has red and orange flowers. We also have one which has yellow flowers.

Lantana Flowers