There's a really good book: Landscape With Reptile: Rattlesnakes in an Urban World, by Thomas Palmer. It actually covers a lot of stuff, but its' more about rattlesnakes than any of the other subjects, and it's beautifully written. Rattlesnakes are interesting and impressive creatures. Among much else, there is no documentation of death by rattlesnake in Massachusetts, and the truth is, they don't want to bite. Venom is costly. And that's why the rattle evolved.
When I lived in Southern Idaho I did a lot of hiking and mountain biking in the high semi arid sagebrush country. I came across many rattlesnakes and none of them were threatening. They moved away quickly like I was the threat. I probably was.
This is very interesting and sounds like a good life to me. I wonder if the same number of rattlesnakes are present today and have not been replaced by development.
Possibly in much of Idaho there may be plenty of rattlesnakes, although not around Boise which has gone through a population explosion. In Massachusetts they may be completely gone, or there may be a few. I saw a few sitings on iNaturalist, so I'm somewhat hopeful that there are still a few. But there's very little empty space here--Massachusettss is the third most densely populated state. Idaho on the other hand... well, it's almost 50 years since I rode my bicycle through the panhandle on my way from Seattle to Boston. And Boise, in southern Idaho has boomed. But my guess is there's still plenty of wide open space there.
I lived in south central southern Idaho. Twin Falls area which has grown a lot. But there is still plenty of undeveloped land with wildlife. I have been in Oregon for almost 20 years now but my Idaho friends say the Mountain biking and hiking in the sagebrush, and trees in the higher elevations is still the same. The politics really suck there though so I have no plans to move back.
Yeah, I've read a bit about the politics in Idaho. Sounds like they can't hang onto doctors who can do abortions. Sad. I wonder if the politics are at all different in Sand Point, a town I went through on my x-country bicycle trip where the people seemed really nice back then.
Actually the hospital in Sandpoint can no longer deliver babies because they lost all of their obstetric providers because of their fear of being arrested for providing reproductive healthcare. ItтАЩs happening in other parts of Idaho too.
I moved there in 1974 from the SF Bay Area. It was a bit of a culture shock but it was beautiful and a very nice place then. Interestingly during that time Frank Church was our Democratic Senator and Cecil Andrus our Democratic Governor. Idaho politics went down hill after that. Unfortunately things donтАЩt always change for the best.
I envy your bike trip. If I remember correctly box turtles are now rare in Massachusetts for same reason. I lived in southwest Virginia for seventy four years and witnessed population decline in reptiles. Two years ago we moved from southwest Virginia to the Charlotte are of NC . I very much miss the black snake and the one to three box turtles I would occasionally see in our backyard.
I'm too old for another bike trip like that. I could do it, but nearly 50 years after the first one, I'd find myself slow... so I'm planning to take a car trip across the country and do a lot of hiking.
I saw two bears on that bike trip--one at the pass in the Cascades, and the other in the wilds of eastern Canada somewhere between the Soo (where I cut up into Canada) and Arnprior, which is 150 miles short of Montreal. Saw loads of garter snakes in N Dak. They'd come out and sun themselves on the road to raise their body temps (behavioral thermoregulation in the jargon) and unfortunately, a lot of them would get run over. And one green snake in N Dak.
And, yeah, box turtles are rare in Mass. I've seen two in the last 30 years, both along them same road on Cape Cod. There is a 249 acre woodland where my dog and I run, and every spring ribbon snakes emerge in the same spot, so I see them regularly, and I've seen a few garter snakes every now and then. And there are lots of turtles in Fresh Pond in Cambridge, which I see mosty sunning themselves on logs--painted turtles, possibly blandings turtles, lots of red ears (which are native of the deep south, and my long ago TA in herpetology at Berkeley is very upset by their being so invasive), maybe map turtles (also invasive), and two snapping turtles. One of them was about 15 inches. My dog found it on the other side of the chain link fence that separates the pond--which is cambridge water supply--from the pathway around the pond. She had her nose in the chain link fence, and I did not see the turtle at first because it was hidden by the spring greenery, and its color completely blended in with the ground. But then, all the sudden, I saw the prehistoric looking head and tail, and knew my dog had made a great find. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera on me. And I occasionally see garter snakes in my yard, which abuts six acres of swamp and woods.
Based only on decreased sightings from my house along the Charles River, snapping turtles may have declined in Massachusetts as well. Bunnies, on the other hand, are thriving.
You MAY have to go onto some place like AbeBooks.com to find it. Or I could put you in touch with the author who has a few boxes full. But let me know what you find and you can contact me directly if you're having trouble finding it, on holzmandc@outlook.com. (I met the author about a month ago with another rattlesnake loving friend for coffee.)
His mind is in a whirlpool and organs will fail. Sharks and rattlesnakes get plenty of rest and Trump does not sleep.
There's a really good book: Landscape With Reptile: Rattlesnakes in an Urban World, by Thomas Palmer. It actually covers a lot of stuff, but its' more about rattlesnakes than any of the other subjects, and it's beautifully written. Rattlesnakes are interesting and impressive creatures. Among much else, there is no documentation of death by rattlesnake in Massachusetts, and the truth is, they don't want to bite. Venom is costly. And that's why the rattle evolved.
TMI, nah, fascinating.
Thank you David. I am a fan of rattlesnakes and a member of the Orianne Society. I will order Thomas Palmer's book.
When I lived in Southern Idaho I did a lot of hiking and mountain biking in the high semi arid sagebrush country. I came across many rattlesnakes and none of them were threatening. They moved away quickly like I was the threat. I probably was.
This is very interesting and sounds like a good life to me. I wonder if the same number of rattlesnakes are present today and have not been replaced by development.
Possibly in much of Idaho there may be plenty of rattlesnakes, although not around Boise which has gone through a population explosion. In Massachusetts they may be completely gone, or there may be a few. I saw a few sitings on iNaturalist, so I'm somewhat hopeful that there are still a few. But there's very little empty space here--Massachusettss is the third most densely populated state. Idaho on the other hand... well, it's almost 50 years since I rode my bicycle through the panhandle on my way from Seattle to Boston. And Boise, in southern Idaho has boomed. But my guess is there's still plenty of wide open space there.
I lived in south central southern Idaho. Twin Falls area which has grown a lot. But there is still plenty of undeveloped land with wildlife. I have been in Oregon for almost 20 years now but my Idaho friends say the Mountain biking and hiking in the sagebrush, and trees in the higher elevations is still the same. The politics really suck there though so I have no plans to move back.
Yeah, I've read a bit about the politics in Idaho. Sounds like they can't hang onto doctors who can do abortions. Sad. I wonder if the politics are at all different in Sand Point, a town I went through on my x-country bicycle trip where the people seemed really nice back then.
That's where the Nazis set up/
Yup. Incidentally, this is probably the most important article I've ever read in my 50-odd years of serious reading/70 years on the planet.
https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2015/04/the-science-of-scarcity
Speaking from experience, that makes perfect sense.
Actually the hospital in Sandpoint can no longer deliver babies because they lost all of their obstetric providers because of their fear of being arrested for providing reproductive healthcare. ItтАЩs happening in other parts of Idaho too.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/20/idaho-bonner-hospital-baby-delivery-abortion-ban
I read a long article somewhere about this happening in Idaho. Crazy stuff! It was such a nice place when I was there in July 1975 on my bicycle.
I moved there in 1974 from the SF Bay Area. It was a bit of a culture shock but it was beautiful and a very nice place then. Interestingly during that time Frank Church was our Democratic Senator and Cecil Andrus our Democratic Governor. Idaho politics went down hill after that. Unfortunately things donтАЩt always change for the best.
I envy your bike trip. If I remember correctly box turtles are now rare in Massachusetts for same reason. I lived in southwest Virginia for seventy four years and witnessed population decline in reptiles. Two years ago we moved from southwest Virginia to the Charlotte are of NC . I very much miss the black snake and the one to three box turtles I would occasionally see in our backyard.
I'm too old for another bike trip like that. I could do it, but nearly 50 years after the first one, I'd find myself slow... so I'm planning to take a car trip across the country and do a lot of hiking.
I saw two bears on that bike trip--one at the pass in the Cascades, and the other in the wilds of eastern Canada somewhere between the Soo (where I cut up into Canada) and Arnprior, which is 150 miles short of Montreal. Saw loads of garter snakes in N Dak. They'd come out and sun themselves on the road to raise their body temps (behavioral thermoregulation in the jargon) and unfortunately, a lot of them would get run over. And one green snake in N Dak.
And, yeah, box turtles are rare in Mass. I've seen two in the last 30 years, both along them same road on Cape Cod. There is a 249 acre woodland where my dog and I run, and every spring ribbon snakes emerge in the same spot, so I see them regularly, and I've seen a few garter snakes every now and then. And there are lots of turtles in Fresh Pond in Cambridge, which I see mosty sunning themselves on logs--painted turtles, possibly blandings turtles, lots of red ears (which are native of the deep south, and my long ago TA in herpetology at Berkeley is very upset by their being so invasive), maybe map turtles (also invasive), and two snapping turtles. One of them was about 15 inches. My dog found it on the other side of the chain link fence that separates the pond--which is cambridge water supply--from the pathway around the pond. She had her nose in the chain link fence, and I did not see the turtle at first because it was hidden by the spring greenery, and its color completely blended in with the ground. But then, all the sudden, I saw the prehistoric looking head and tail, and knew my dog had made a great find. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera on me. And I occasionally see garter snakes in my yard, which abuts six acres of swamp and woods.
Based only on decreased sightings from my house along the Charles River, snapping turtles may have declined in Massachusetts as well. Bunnies, on the other hand, are thriving.
You MAY have to go onto some place like AbeBooks.com to find it. Or I could put you in touch with the author who has a few boxes full. But let me know what you find and you can contact me directly if you're having trouble finding it, on holzmandc@outlook.com. (I met the author about a month ago with another rattlesnake loving friend for coffee.)
Wow. That is impressive. I have the book ready to press the button on AbeBooks as we speak.