But....
Something was on the path to the bluebonnet. Something brown, tan, gray, and...moving...sort of...sinuously...Karen did the right thing. She stopped. She did not step on it to see if it was alive. But, having camera in hand, she took its picture for later study. The snake did not like the sound of the camera.
Up came the head, and it turned toward her. Well, that was exciting. She had the good sense to back up more. And took this picture. In the spring, some snakes are a bit...proddy, we call it. Touchy. Easily upset. This was not one of the calm snakes, or a snake quick to disappear into the taller grass. This snake...
....was seriusly upset. Luckily, she was far enough away...this is with a zoom lens.
(all photos by Karen Shull)
Note that all the pictures are sharp, indicating a steady hand and good eye (and also, we got the camera settings right finally.) What a Texas hostess needs is house guests who handle a sudden encounter with a western diamondback rattlesnake with this level of calm, good sense, courage, and photographic skill. (And any encounter with such a snake that doesn't end in the ER is an excellent adventure.)