Replicated from the GGA EZBoard:

slayerette
Registered Geocacher
(3/15/02 7:12:37 pm)
They're Baaaaack.

It's that time of year, It's getting warmer, the leaves are coming out on the trees, everything is greening up and the snakes are coming out of wherever.

We haven't had to keep an eagle eye out for them for the past couple months. But just a reminder to start looking.

I was caching today at lunch - Big Creek on the green - and I spotted 2 very young snakes sunning themselves on the concrete. They were harmless and I wasn't freaked, but it sure made me look (for the first time in a while) before I "leapt"off the trail to search for the cache.

Happy Trails


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erik88l r
Administrator
(3/15/02 7:27:53 pm)
Re: They're Baaaaack.

Sounds like it'll soon be time to ask the Snake Lady to come back and give us a refresher course. It seems like the few times I've seen a snake it was slithering away so fast I couldn't tell what it was. I think Goss liked the surprise she had with a rubber snake I left in this cache.

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slayerette
Registered Geocacher
(3/15/02 7:39:59 pm)
Re: They're Baaaaack.

It gave me quite a jolt when I came across it.

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Gossamyrrh
Magnificent Poster
(3/16/02 3:56:13 am)
Re: They're Baaaaack.

ah-HA! It was YOU!

But I've had fun telling the story.

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AJLacy
Awe-Inspiring Poster
(3/16/02 10:17:33 am)
Pay attention to your surroundings

At one of my favorite caches Looking Glass Rock (which has only had 12 logs in a year) there several pictures of snakes including mine Rattlesnake and Black Snake but neither near the cache.

Now for a story about not paying attention to your surroundings. Several years ago I was talking with the Ranger at Anna Ruby Falls. He told the following:

During the previous winter he was going up the trail to the falls salting ice patches to melt them. He put salt on a patch of ice and then looked for the next patch, go to it and put salt on it. So he was going up the trail with his head down. He heard something and looked up to see a bear about 10-12 feet from him. After getting over the initial shock, he grabbed his hat and raised it over his head (that make you look larger to the bear) and backed away. After a few minutes, the bear went into the woods. He said after that his work changed to look for bear, look for ice patch, look for bear, walk to ice patch, look for bear, salt ice patch, repeat. We all had a good laugh.

So best practice is don’t get so involved in what you are doing that you don’t pay attention to your surrounding, no matter the season.
Neutiquam erro.

Edited by: AJLacy at: 3/16/02 11:44:55 am

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lmoseley
BigDog
(3/16/02 11:03:15 am)
ezSupporter

Re: Pay attention to your surroundings

Next time you find one, slayerette, save it for locache. He just loves snakes.

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LoCache
Administrator
(3/16/02 7:21:54 pm)
Re: Pay attention to your surroundings

Check out my post on this cache to see an example of my love for snakes.

Geo

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rdworm
Registered Geocacher
(3/16/02 9:19:40 pm)
Re: They're Baaaaack.

saw my first snake at Fern City Swimming Hole today. no idea what kind it was. about three feet long and brown with some markings. it never moved just stayed frozen in place until we passed.

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CharlieP
Registered Geocacher
(3/17/02 1:48:03 pm)
Re: They're Baaaaack.

AJLacy Writes:
So best practice is don’t get so involved in what you are doing that you don’t pay attention to your surrounding, no matter the season.

Now there is some good advice. I learned this lesson about 40 years ago while hunting with an older cousin. I was walking through the woods in the lead, looking up in the trees for squirrels, and as I put out my foot to take the next step my cousin (who was about twice my size) grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me back off my feet. As I began to complain "why did you do that?" he just pointed his rifle at the ground where I was about to step and there was a motionless large black snake. Whooooa! Same thing applies to walking along staring at a GPS unit - watch where you step! - especially in the spring, when the snakes are out in force.

FWIW,
CharlieP

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erik88l r
Administrator
(5/17/02 9:06:43 pm)
Snakes on TV

(quote
Georgia Outdoors: Snakes!

Saturday, May 18 @ 6 PM and Friday, May 24 @ 11 PM

Perhaps no other animals have been the object of so much fear, misinformation, and misunderstanding as snakes. Join Host Michael Skinner, long-time snake fan, for a look at the fascinating truth about these much maligned animals. Joining researchers at the Savannah River Ecology Lab, Michael goes on a snake float and literally picks the water snakes off the overhanging limbs. "Why?" you might ask. To show you how to tell the difference between the harmless brown water snake and the poisonous cottonmouth.

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AllenLacy
Registered Geocacher
(6/3/02 9:28:03 am)
Not just snakes are back

Well the bears are coming out in the GA mountains, and you need to keep an eye out for them. Also not just in the mountains, see article in AJC online. This one is gone, but you never know when another one might show up or where.

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Da Rebel
Magnificent Poster
(6/3/02 9:38:57 am)
Re: Not just snakes are back

Ticks are here in droves! I did a short (unsuccessful ) hunt yesterday, picked em off, showered later, and still found one this morning.

It's deet time!
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." - Mark Twain

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CharlieP
Registered Geocacher
(6/3/02 1:10:37 pm)
Ticks ... Yuk!!

Yep DR, it looks like there will be a bumper crop of the little suckers this year. I found my first one of the season yesterday. I usually wear white athletic socks with shorts, a white hat, and a white T-shirt. The white clothing makes it easier to see them. I also try to avoid contact with vegetation above my knees, but that is not always possible, and that's when I reach for the deet.

FWIW,
CharlieP

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Brad Webb
gpsfun
(6/3/02 8:41:54 pm)
ezSupporter
Re: Ticks ... Yuk!!

My wife and I picked up a good half-dozen down around Lake Jackson on April 4! Those were tiny little suckers, too.

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Gossamyrrh
Magnificent Poster
(6/4/02 7:31:56 am)
Re: Ticks ... Yuk!!

What a bad pun!

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AllenLacy
Registered Geocacher
(6/4/02 7:46:15 am)
Re: Not just snakes are back

Since I started Geocaching, I haven't ever seen a bear on the trail, not even while doing Thrill of the Hunt in Cohutta Wilderness Area which has the highest concentration of bears in Georgia. Now it looks like I would be more likely to see them in the urban caches around Atlanta. See second article in AJC.

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erik88l r
Administrator
(6/4/02 9:04:29 pm)
Re: Not just snakes are back

That's neat about the bears. Downtown Buford is only about 5 miles from me. Wonder where that poor bear came from. Hope he stays wherever he's put. I've got a nice little blackberry patch in my backyard - I'll have to keep an eye on it!

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AllenLacy
Registered Geocacher
(6/6/02 9:07:49 am)
Bear Incident

Well it didn't happen near Georgia, but I found the "Bear Incident" in "NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, June 4, 2002" interesting. Don't know if I could have stood still while it closed it's mouth.

Editor's note - the link above is correct; however, it now points to an unrelated article.

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erik88l r
Administrator
(6/17/02 3:49:15 pm)
Re: Snakes

Back to the snakes that started this thread -

I got a confirmation that we can have another snake presentation at our August meeting. It will be Stephanie again and/or Dr. Mark Patterson of the Lanier Museum of Natural History.

The location will be at that Museum - either out of doors or in their auditorium, depending on what would work best for us and them. They have a tent that can cover 30 or an auditorium that can hold 70.

~erik~

[This message was edited by gpsfun on November 04, 2002 at 08:12 PM.]

[This message was edited by gpsfun on November 04, 2002 at 08:13 PM.]