Monday, April 4/2011

Just outside our door!

Getting pissed!

One last strike before his demise!

The sun is shining again today but there is a breeze with it so the temperature will probably not get into the 90s.  Yeah!!
The two quail came to the feeder today (I had caught a few glimpses of them the last few days) and it was a pleasure watching them scratch around looking for seeds.  They are quite entertaining.  Hopefully they will become regulars.
Once Hogan has been outside to do the perimeter checks and do his morning "business", he usually comes back into the bus and perches himself on the dash and generally watches the world go by.  Today was no different.  Usually when he sees something that requires a chase (usually those pesky rabbits) he bounds off the dash and out the door - I usually do not keep it latched due to these frequent and rather spirited bursts out of the bus.  It is not unusual for him to growl or bark.  Today he let out a rather menacing little growl and was off the dash, through the door and outside.  I usually watch to see which way he is headed and perhaps catch a glimpse of the desert dweller he is after.  Today, I noted that he was staring at something on the ground by the motorhome step.  He was acting rather strange - not really aggressive, more perhaps  cautious.  OH NO - Jesus Mary and Joseph ...... it is a three foot long coon tail rattlesnake!!  I quickly call to Hogan to come in and thank my lucky stars he is a good listener.  He gives the snake a wide enough berth and comes inside.  Mean while, I grab the camera and since John is still in bed, wake him up and tell him there is a rattler in the campsite.  I go outside giving the snake plenty of room and note that Keith is up.  I call him over to see the snake saying "bring your camera".  Trueman has told us that if we see one, kill it, do not give them a second chance especially if it is in your campsite.  Well, it was three against one - toughest battle we ever fought.   John is now the official snake slayer of the campsite.  With the use of a couple of huge rocks and the rake, the battle was over in no time - but the snake did manage to strike the rake a few times before he died.  I had an empty milk jug in the garbage so that is where we put him, making sure no one got near his fangs.
Charlotte wandered over after the battle was over and has decided to skin it and cook it!!  Good grief!!
With the morning excitement over with, I called Ben and asked him to come out and give me a ride into town.  I needed to buy a few things and he was more than happy to oblige me.  Once all my shopping was done,  I ended up helping him clean up his apartment and putting  a bit of order back into his space. He has not been feeling all that well lately and has let his apartment become quite messy.    With the apartment clean, we headed back out to the desert.  Tonight is the night John is cooking the salmon and I invited Ben to come to supper.  He headed back into town to finish his laundry and have a little rest before supper.
Charlotte had been busy all day dealing with the snake.  She had decided to make rattlesnake chili.  When it was done, she brought some over for us to try.  John refused to eat any but I certainly tried it and found that it had the texture of calamari.  I really could not discern any taste to the snake because it was overpowered by the chili spices.  All in all though, it was not unpleasant - good even.
Supper was totally awesome - a real collaborative effort.  I wrapped the baking potatoes, John cooked them and the salmon, Keith was responsible for the asparagus and garlic butter,  Charlotte brought the coleslaw and Ben provided the dessert.  What a great way to end off the day!!