Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,034
During the week when I am working I take breaks and wander around the areas looking for things of interest...plants, animals, tracks, whatever, then on the weekends I take my daughter on a hike in the areas I was working in to show her around and show her different things like plants she hasn't seen or stages she hasn't seen them in. Since the season is past mid spring, there are a lot of things going on in the wild world, so I thought I should have a pretty interesting Saturday planned out for the little one...little did I know there would be a surprise event at the beginning of our Saturday hike.
Edit: It has been pointed out to me that I should maybe clarify this situation for those who don't actually know me. The only reason I killed the copperhead in the pictures below is because it was, in my opinion, injured well beyond any reasonable expectation of healing when it struck at the underside of the car that drove over it. It appeared to be fine up until that point. My initial goal was to do the snake and the people on the thirty or forty mountain bikers headed that way a favor and relocate the snake onto some large rocks on the opposite side of the road from where my daughter and I were going hiking. I just wanted to observe the snake's physical condition and disposition, and took a few detailed photos. Then came a car that just couldn't be bothered to go around the snake as I was motioning. It instead straddled the snake not trying to run over it. Apparently the snake was disoriented and struck at the underside of the car as it went over and that didn't work out very well for the snake. I know that Copperheads are venomous snakes, but from my experiences their numbers have drastically declined in recent years, and this was not in a populated area. I have seen enough death and bloodshed, I will only ever harm any living thing for three reasons; defense, hunger, or euthanasia. When it comes to wild animals of all types, I'd much rather observe and photograph, and just live and let live. However, once all hope of a rescue operation had passed, my severely pragmatic side took over. The analyst and scientist in me just couldn't pass up the opportunity for an up close study of the snake, and the teacher in me couldn't pass up the chance to teach my daughter some things she needs to know about this area and the creatures that inhabit it. After a brief analysis of the snake as a whole by myself and my daughter, I dispatched the snake by the quickest and most merciful method I had at my disposal at the moment. I have a tendency to document as much of any event as I can, I think my photo-heavy posts bear witness to this. The pics of the snakes euthanasia are not an attempt at cool factor, there is never anything cool about the death of an innocent. They were just a response to earlier comments from family and friends about me letting my daughter handle a venomous snake, and also in hopes of nipping any future such comments in the bud. It was my way of illustrating that though I may be a bit crazy...I am neither crazy enough, nor stupid enough to let my young daughter handle a live venomous snake or even a dead one with the fangs still present that could lead to my daughter being injured.
Friday morning, I was running late and racing the sunrise to get set up in the area I was planning on working in.
Driving down the dirt road I spotted a set of coyote tracks along the side of the road.
Not far away I found more coyote sign
Future autumn olives
May Apples
Lots of hornets in the area, I saw a few on dead trees gathering materials for their nests.
Lots of flowering plants in bloom currently, especially lots of blackberry blooms, so lots of bees and other flying insects in the area.
Quite a few turkeys in the area too.
The sassafras is going good
So is the poison oak
Competition for sunlight gets fierce at times. Virginia creeper, grapes, and poison ivy are competing here.
Several spiders in these woods
.
End part 1 of 3
Edit: It has been pointed out to me that I should maybe clarify this situation for those who don't actually know me. The only reason I killed the copperhead in the pictures below is because it was, in my opinion, injured well beyond any reasonable expectation of healing when it struck at the underside of the car that drove over it. It appeared to be fine up until that point. My initial goal was to do the snake and the people on the thirty or forty mountain bikers headed that way a favor and relocate the snake onto some large rocks on the opposite side of the road from where my daughter and I were going hiking. I just wanted to observe the snake's physical condition and disposition, and took a few detailed photos. Then came a car that just couldn't be bothered to go around the snake as I was motioning. It instead straddled the snake not trying to run over it. Apparently the snake was disoriented and struck at the underside of the car as it went over and that didn't work out very well for the snake. I know that Copperheads are venomous snakes, but from my experiences their numbers have drastically declined in recent years, and this was not in a populated area. I have seen enough death and bloodshed, I will only ever harm any living thing for three reasons; defense, hunger, or euthanasia. When it comes to wild animals of all types, I'd much rather observe and photograph, and just live and let live. However, once all hope of a rescue operation had passed, my severely pragmatic side took over. The analyst and scientist in me just couldn't pass up the opportunity for an up close study of the snake, and the teacher in me couldn't pass up the chance to teach my daughter some things she needs to know about this area and the creatures that inhabit it. After a brief analysis of the snake as a whole by myself and my daughter, I dispatched the snake by the quickest and most merciful method I had at my disposal at the moment. I have a tendency to document as much of any event as I can, I think my photo-heavy posts bear witness to this. The pics of the snakes euthanasia are not an attempt at cool factor, there is never anything cool about the death of an innocent. They were just a response to earlier comments from family and friends about me letting my daughter handle a venomous snake, and also in hopes of nipping any future such comments in the bud. It was my way of illustrating that though I may be a bit crazy...I am neither crazy enough, nor stupid enough to let my young daughter handle a live venomous snake or even a dead one with the fangs still present that could lead to my daughter being injured.
Friday morning, I was running late and racing the sunrise to get set up in the area I was planning on working in.
Driving down the dirt road I spotted a set of coyote tracks along the side of the road.
Not far away I found more coyote sign
Future autumn olives
May Apples
Lots of hornets in the area, I saw a few on dead trees gathering materials for their nests.
Lots of flowering plants in bloom currently, especially lots of blackberry blooms, so lots of bees and other flying insects in the area.
Quite a few turkeys in the area too.
The sassafras is going good
So is the poison oak
Competition for sunlight gets fierce at times. Virginia creeper, grapes, and poison ivy are competing here.
Several spiders in these woods
.
End part 1 of 3
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) I wish I got to spend more time outside with my nephew and get him learning, but I don't see him as much lately. Glad you're doing your part to keep the next generation interested in the outdoors. Hopefully she stays interested. 
