Sunset and Snakes on the Menu

"I cry very easily. It can be a movie, a phone conversation, a sunset - tears are words waiting to be written."

-Paulo Coelho 

It's been an eventful last two days. Yesterday morning, Raoul and I went for an early morning walk. (by early I mean 8:ooam which is usually no small miracle for me but hey, there are flowers and colors out there to discover before the wind kicks up).

I will post them once I process them all. We happened upon quite a few new ones that were not there two days ago. They seem to sprout up very quickly here. Perhaps nature senses that time is of the essence.

The sunset yesterday evening was spectacular as usual in Terlingua and the Big Bend.

As Raoul and I were making our way through the golf course at the Resort property (Big Bend Resort & Adventures), we spotted some beautiful white blooms in a grassy area along the pathway so we stopped. We had not seen these two days earlier and we had stopped here to photograph the Blue Curls that were blooming in the same exact location. We are always aware of the possibility of snakes so we always bring our walking sticks with us in order to beat the bushes so to speak and scare them away. Well, both of us went about our way and began finding a good position for a good photo of the wonderful blooms. Neither of us wanted to wade into the dry grass so we attempted to keep looking for some specimens in a better area. I finally found a good place to set my tripod. I kneeled down and was concentrating on the shot with my face looking through the viewfinder. I tell you, sometimes, it is not the most comfortable position.

While looking through the viewfinder, I heard Raoul say, "There's a snake behind you." Well, I almost said, "That's not funny", but, I didn't because there was nothing funny in the tone of his voice and I so wanted there to be. Neither did I want to turn around for fear of finding out just how close it really was. But, I did turn around slowly and there it was. Coiled up and calmly laying there under a creosote bush. We didn't know it then but we knew it was either a Western Diamondback or the dreaded Mojave. I was stunned. I had walked around the dry grass area to avoid the possibility of snakes and was watching and scanning the ground intently. While doing so I had walked right by the creosote bush and the snake with my ankle just two inches away from it's fangs. It had blended in perfectly with the dry ground. Lord have mercy.

I immediately grabbed my gear, tripod and got away from there and hopped over the dry grass I had avoided earlier. As soon as I had regained my composure, I did what was only natural and placed the camera back up to my face and snapped a few shots of the snake still coiled calmly in the same spot. I think the only thing that saved me was the 55 degree temperature that morning. Snakes are usually more lethargic when it's colder. Raoul then used his metal hiking stick to stab it in the head. And that was it.

On we went, pretty shaken but we continued our search for wildflowers and that much more aware of what was out here with us.

Evening Primrose (not sure of variety)

Aster bloom- The one I've been searching for nearly three weeks

I hope today is a better day for everyone. My thoughts and prayers go out to those effected by the explosions during the Boston Marathon.

Charlton