Autumn in the Foothills

Fall can be a lovely time of year with brisk breezes, colorful leaves and fall flowers. The colors probably won't be as good as usual this year because of the lack of rain, and the leaves will fall off the trees quickly. Fall still has it charms, however. And dangers.

I have a friend who sells geraniums as a fund raiser every spring and she wanted some pictures of the flowers' colors to help her sell them next year, so I went up to her house with my trusty Canon to oblige.

We got a bit of a surprise on her driveway, Crotalus viridis viridis, alias the Prairie Rattlesnake. It was just a little bugger, but practically invisible against the concrete.

This is why, when we garden in the spring and fall, we carry a tomato stake with us and let it probe a path ahead of our feet.

If you feel like reading a longer poison snake story, click here.