I used to get the heebie jeebies from snakes growing up which has gradually faded away through my adulthood. In college I used to hike a lot in the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Often with friends, but just as often alone when others had plans of their own. On one of these hikes which was on a long trail which was mainly a traverse, undulating up and down over many miles without many steep accents, my hike turned into more of a spontaneous trail run both out of sheer enjoyment and perhaps to save some time as it was a really long trail. I think I covered about 17 miles that day if memory serves. During this run I came upon a snake crossing the trail which I had to leap over to avoid stepping on in my haste. It gave me a good start, but also a thrill.
I was reminded of the Buddhist tale about the farmer who was walking home in the twilight who mistook a rope for a snake, the lesson being that our mistaken perceptions can cause us all kinds of stress and anxiety and are often much more frightening than reality.
On another occasion, some friends and I were hiking along the basalt cliffs of the Boise river. There is an area called the Black Cliffs where people rock climb on the basalt columns above the North bank, but we were exploring the South bank that day, looking for some new spots. We picked our way through the boulder fields below the cliffs for several minutes before we heard a rattlesnake start up somewhere off to one side. We carefully changed course and forged ahead until another started up on the other side, then another. We weren’t sure where they were in the boulders or how many there were, only that we were surrounded and could not get out of there fast enough!
Later, when I worked on an Organic CSA farm in New Mexico and stumbled upon a large black snake in the fields one day(probably a rat snake as it was at least 4 feet long)I decided to catch it as a way of getting over the skin crawling sensation they used to inspire in me (something about the wiggling and writhing I think). I was able to pin it down gently with a stirrup hoe and grab it behind the head. I picked it up and gave it a nice long once over before letting it go on its merry way. It’s probably been about 20 years since then and snakes no longer make me want to jump out of my skin. Now they just engender the same fascination as any other animal I encounter in nature.
By the way, the cobra lillies (Darlingtonia californica) are at a nice little roadside natural area near Florence, Oregon, the Darlingtonia State Natural Site.
Thanks for the shoutout, Heidi.
I used to get the heebie jeebies from snakes growing up which has gradually faded away through my adulthood. In college I used to hike a lot in the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. Often with friends, but just as often alone when others had plans of their own. On one of these hikes which was on a long trail which was mainly a traverse, undulating up and down over many miles without many steep accents, my hike turned into more of a spontaneous trail run both out of sheer enjoyment and perhaps to save some time as it was a really long trail. I think I covered about 17 miles that day if memory serves. During this run I came upon a snake crossing the trail which I had to leap over to avoid stepping on in my haste. It gave me a good start, but also a thrill.
I was reminded of the Buddhist tale about the farmer who was walking home in the twilight who mistook a rope for a snake, the lesson being that our mistaken perceptions can cause us all kinds of stress and anxiety and are often much more frightening than reality.
On another occasion, some friends and I were hiking along the basalt cliffs of the Boise river. There is an area called the Black Cliffs where people rock climb on the basalt columns above the North bank, but we were exploring the South bank that day, looking for some new spots. We picked our way through the boulder fields below the cliffs for several minutes before we heard a rattlesnake start up somewhere off to one side. We carefully changed course and forged ahead until another started up on the other side, then another. We weren’t sure where they were in the boulders or how many there were, only that we were surrounded and could not get out of there fast enough!
Later, when I worked on an Organic CSA farm in New Mexico and stumbled upon a large black snake in the fields one day(probably a rat snake as it was at least 4 feet long)I decided to catch it as a way of getting over the skin crawling sensation they used to inspire in me (something about the wiggling and writhing I think). I was able to pin it down gently with a stirrup hoe and grab it behind the head. I picked it up and gave it a nice long once over before letting it go on its merry way. It’s probably been about 20 years since then and snakes no longer make me want to jump out of my skin. Now they just engender the same fascination as any other animal I encounter in nature.
By the way, the cobra lillies (Darlingtonia californica) are at a nice little roadside natural area near Florence, Oregon, the Darlingtonia State Natural Site.
Horses don't like snakes either. You are not alone. However, there is a place for them, as there is a place for us.