Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

Still a Busy Rattlesnake Year

Photo of a young rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), the sixth we've found so far in 2019. It’s officially Fall, and on October 1st we caught our sixth Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) of 2019. The first rattlesnake this year was found March 27th, a month earlier than ever before. ... Read More

Official Start of Summer on the Farm

Photo: A male Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after being captured in our backyard. The sure-fire indicator of the beginning of summer on the farm happened March 27th this year. This was a full month earlier than last year. For comparison, read my blog from last year, ... Read More

South Texas Collecting Trip

Photo: A pair of mystery footprints in shallow water on the margins of a pond on a South Texas ranch. At the bottom is the shadow of the author's I-phone for scale. The first week of March this year I got a message from our nephew Darin Rokyta, an Associate Professor of the Department of ... Read More

Signs of Summer on the Farm

Photo above: The farm's first sign of summer, a rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after being captured in our yard.   We know the beginning of summer on the farm not by calendar, but by nature. The clearest sign of summer is snakes. Specifically, rattlesnakes and copperheads. The ... Read More

It’s Going to be a “YUGE” Snake Year

Photo: A large female Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) in a barrel after capture and prior to relocation. No, this is not a political post. It appears that we are in for lots of snakes this year, hence the “Yuge!” We usually see lots of snakes; after all we’re in the country and ... Read More