Rhododendrons and Rattlesnakes

House in Gaines

Wellsboro

Wellsboro

Wellsboro

Wellsboro

Morris Rattlesnake Box

Rattlesnake head

Rattlesnake head from top of tube

Lee's annual Pet a Rattlesnake

This is a little bit of a catch up post for the last couple weeks. The Rhododendrons are so pretty around this area, I had to capture some of them for you. Our acid soil makes them bigger than I see anywhere else some as high as the first story on a house. The beautiful old Victorian houses in Wellsboro look picture card perfect surrounding by the blooming bushes. Their wilder cousins the Mountain Laurel is starting to bud and I am guessing will open up and be nice for the Laurel fest this coming weekend.

This weekend is of course the rattlesnake festival in Morris. We go every year so we can eat things off our normal diet and see the snakes. Today the weather was a bit on the cool side so their were only a few snakes by 2 pm when we were there.  But it was enough for Lee to get in her annual petting of a rattlesnake. What you can't see in the picture is "Speck", the Chihuahua was in her other hand and not at all impressed by the large buzzing reptile. The view from the top of the tube show the head, the eyes are film covered because this yellow timber rattler was in the process of shedding its skin.

The contest is catch and release at the spot they were captured. The only indignity the snakes face is being micro-chipped and petted by a hundred people. They often capture the same snake again in following years and by weighing them and measuring them it lets them track how much they have grown. Rattlesnakes are protected in this area and not allowed to be killed. All the snake catchers must get a permit from Fish and Game to catch rattlesnakes for the festival. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.