|
Copperheaders Strike Back
- Lynn Meyer & Dan Buckley 06/01/05
The recent article about the
COPPERHEAD SNAKE SIGHTING
rattled some nerves. Comments are below. First is Lynn Meyer's, then
Dan
Buckley's. In the true spirit of American Road Cycling
thoroughness, I tracked down both sightings and
linked pictures of both at the end of the stories.
Hi Bob
Very interesting read.
I always thought of milk snake bellies as "checkerboards" but I now
agree with Art, they're more like piano keys.
I am still quite sure the snake I saw approaching the
corkscrew turn on
CTY RT 62 was a biiigggg copperhead. The pattern was kinda muted, but
the head was a triangle shape. He looked very dead, and at the time I
didn't know the trick about the shape of the eye as a verification
method, but even if I had, there's no way I would have peeled his eyes
open to check them out. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a
dead-enough looking copperhead.
If you're ever in downtown Albuquerque, you should visit the American
International Rattlesnake Museum. It was the first museum I've ever
visited that is both American and International. But don't let the name
awe you, it's more like Mom & Pop's Snake Museum. They have lots and
lots of rattlesnakes, dozens of varieties. Make sure you visit the
bathroom, it's wallpapered with newspaper articles about stupid things
people have done with rattlesnakes. Like the guy in one of those
Appalachian states who stumbled out of the bar one night and found a
rattlesnake. He was mad at his neighbor, so he came up with the
brilliant plan to take the snake and put it in his neighbor's house. But
first he had to get it home. So he stuffed it in his shirt and started
biking home (guess this guy didn't have a drivers license, I wonder
why). Now that's pretty drunk. And yes, he got bit.
By the way, two weeks ago I was driving the Hump route about 2 hours
after the Saturday ride, and as I approached the top of Dog Hill, on the
right shoulder of the road I observed a black German Shepard staring at
me. As I got a little closer, it turned and started to trot off. When I
saw the profile I realized it was a small black bear.
L
It's a good thing I'm around to verify such
sightings. See the PHOTO OF
LYNN'S COPPERHEAD.
As for Dan's comments, well ok they're
about Rattle Snakes, but still...
Hi Bob:
I have 2 rattle snake stories for you.
Twelve years ago, while hiking on a local trail in
West Milford, NJ, my dog Scrappy was bitten by a
Timber Rattle Snake and nearly died. He immediately
went into shock and I had to carry him three miles out
of the woods back to the car. I promptly drove him to
an animal hospital where envenom was rushed in from
NYC and administered. He spent several days in the
hospital and eventually recovered from the event. I
made inquiries with several Vets in the area and
discovered this is not as rare an occurrence as YOU
may think.
While working on the construction of a new home in
Stirlington, NY, A machine operator accidentally ran
over a Timber rattler. We promptly cooked it and had
it for lunch. It's not that I have a particular
appetite for snake, I just wanted to say I had eaten
it. How often does one get to eat an animal on the
endangered list? Anyway, he took the skin to a
taxidermist the next day to have a hat band made. The
taxidermist said he would get him thrown in jail if he
didn't get that skin out of his place ASAP.
I'm not a snake oil salesman. These are true stories.
db
All righty then, the first report is
factual. I'm sure it is, because I asked Dan's dog, and he confirmed it.
Dogs I believe, people I check up on. So I went out to the construction
site and found the remains of Dan's Rattler. I had to go further out into
the boonies than to get LYNN"S
COPPERHEAD PHOTO, but it was well worth the effort to be able to
publish this PHOTO OF DAN'S
RATTLER.
I hope these photos clear up this
controversy once and for all. -SlingShot
In May of 2007, almost two years after the
original publication of the Copperhead Series (and most likely in
memory of the series), Nuclear Dan Buckley sent in
another poisonous snake sighting photo.
this page last updated:
11/28/2012 11:37:29 AM
|