A quiz for you: Was that SCARY or LUCKY? I think BOTH!

This was a first for us.  It was super hot Friday, so for our "longer" walk we waited until it was almost dark to get out the stroller and walk around the campground.  We were walking along the paved road and passed something on the inside edge of the pavement.  I stopped and backed up, saying to myself, "It looks like a large, fat lizard.  Darn, I didn't bring my camera!"  I wondered if it had been run over because it wasn't moving.  It was dark enough that I couldn't see the critter clearly, just an outline, barely, and it looked to be just sitting there, about a foot long and fat in the middle.  I was thinking, a big lizard that just had a meal.

I got closer, maybe three feet away, and started to lean down to see if I could get a clearer view when I heard the RATTLES.   SH*T!!!   (Excuse my French, it's my go-to word when totally shocked.)  I backed up as fast as I could, EEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!, pulling the stroller with me, almost turning it over twice and twisting my wrist.  GGGGEEEEEEEEEEZZZZ! 

I've never seen a rattlesnake in person before, and I guess I still haven't, but now I've sure heard one.  I walked quickly away, doing some of those breaths where you breathe in deeply and blow it out through your lips.  I kept saying to Katie, "That was really scary."  Then "That was really lucky."

It must have been coiled, and that's why it looked so short and fat.  Even though I couldn't see it clearly, when it started rattling, I could see a vague outline of the tail raised.  I couldn't believe it didn't strike at me when I leaned over to get a closer look.  I still think about it and say, Boy was that scary! Boy was that lucky!

Needless to say, no more late evening walks for us.  Last evening it was still completely light wen we walked, still, it was around 7:30 or so because that's when it starts cooling down enough to walk.  But completely light, and I scanned the road.  To the left, to the right, straight ahead, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Boy, was that scary!  Boy was that lucky!  WHEW!  :)

Here are a few shots taken in the last weeks:

Bluewater Lake State Park, NM

The Palms under a huge rainbow - we had a LOT of rain when we were there.

It was a double rainbow:

Two Raven lovebirds sitting on a rock together:

There were still some beautiful cactus flowers blooming:

When I see Gambel's Quail, I think of Nuns; when I see Turkey Buzzards, I think of SCOTUS.  Here's the Chief Justice:

(No religious or political implications meant.)

And here are three of the other Justices:

Elephant Butte Lake State Park, NM

Bunnies and lizards just remind me of bunnies and lizards:

I think this guy is called a Zebra-tailed Lizard.  What made him stand out is that when we were walking along and got too close to him, he scooted away with his tail in the air.  He didn't go far, just a few feet, and as we walked closer, he did it again and again.  This isn't a very clear shot, but was the best one I got of him.  I don't know what the loose neck skin is all about, or those weird toes.  And he sure looked different than other lizards when he flipped up his tail and ran.  I've never seen that before.  The underside of his tail is white with black stripes around it.

Beautiful Eastern sky the other night at sunset.  There are lots of evenings where the sunset isn't as pretty as the eastern sky, and this was one of them.

Sunset sky over Elephant Butte Lake:

I'm still quaking about the rattlesnake incident.  Wow, that was scarey!  And I just can't say that without saying, That was SO lucky!

From me and Katie, have a great Sunday, everyone!  :) 

PS:  Here's a great idea for you, and something I should have brought with me on the rattle snake walk the other night:  
This one is made by Coleman and comes in different colors.  The one I got is exactly like this except it has three lights, one in the middle edge of the brim, and two under the brim.  It's plenty of light to see at night, and so much easier than holding a flashlight.  So if you order from this link, you might get three lights instead of four, but I'm super happy with mine. 

They are well made with very sturdy material.  I should have had mine on the other night during our scarey rattle snake walk.  :) 

Blogging break...

I seem to be on a blogging break.  I went through the photos that were left from Storrie Lake, and honestly, none of them are that interesting.  I left Storrie and traveled to Bluewater Lake State Park, but so far there is nothing new to write about or photograph here.  I haven't even seen any horses!  Lots and lots of thunderstorms, though.  Raining like crazy almost every afternoon.  There is so little sun I needed an electric site.  And nothing to post about.   :(

BUT - even though there is nothing to say right now, I HAD to post this.  Because every time I pull up my blog to check out YOUR posts on my Blog Roll, I see the photos of the SNAKES.  I'm so tired of looking at those Bull Snakes - they aren't my favorite critters.

I noticed the photo below on-line this morning and thought it was so cool.  Talk about taking a photo at the exact right second!   So...   here it is, and it's going to be nice to look at as I'm scrolling through to read all your posts.

It's from imgur.com and was titled, Perfectly Aligned.  Isn't that the coolest photo?  I would have been happy to snap it even without the plane above it in the sky.  I think it's a Canada Goose, right?  What perfect form!  Note:  Per Judy and Tom in the comment section, it's a Sandhill Crane.  Thanks to you both!

Oh, wait, I DO have something to tell you about.  Poor Katie.  About a week ago Katie stepped on a red ant again.  Same foot as the red ant nest two years ago.  Just one ant this time, I think, but she went nuts.  It must have been inside her pads again, because I couldn't see it.  She was crying and lifting her right rear foot, which was shaking like mad.  We went inside The Palms and she ran to her car seat and started licking the foot like crazy.  She wouldn't let me touch it, or even look at it.  Apparently she is very allergic to their bites/stings.

When I tried to pet her she snapped at me.  She was determined I wasn't going to get close to her.  (I don't' think she would have bitten me, but she did snap, as a warning, and I left her alone.)

I immediately went on-line to see if there was anything I could do for her.  Then I called the Vet she's seen in Las Vegas, NM.  She just had her annual check-up there.  I wasn't happy with what he said, so I called the Vet in Grants, the nearest city to Bluewater Lake.  Ditto with him.  There didn't' seem to be much I could do.

I went back on-line and all the sites suggested making a paste of baking soda and water and applying it to the bitten area.  There were other things as well, but that one was on all the sites.  Of course, Katie wouldn't have let me NEAR her paw, and there was no way I was going to spread her toes and apply a paste, so I made a "solution" of baking soda and water in a plastic "squeeze" catsup bottle.  Then I went over to her and drizzled the liquid onto her foot, from over her head - out of reach so she couldn't snap at my hand.  I drizzled it a few times.

Within a minute, her foot stopped shaking and she finally laid it down on the blanket covering the car seat.  Not long after that, she jumped up over the passenger seat back to the dinette bench seat, down on the floor, and walked over to her water bowl.  She wasn't putting all her weight on that foot at first, but it didn't take long before she was walking normally. 

It was amazing!  That solution was a miracle.  She's been fine ever since.  Just in case you have a similar experience with your dog, BAKING SODA AND WATER!

And an update on the joint issue with that same leg. About a month ago I started her on VetIQ Hip&Joint Glucosamine.  I got it at Wal-Mart.  There are 45 "chicken Flavored Soft Chews" in the package.  A dog Katie's size gets 1/2 treat every other day, so they will last us 180 days.  I've noticed that she is walking longer and longer, and just this week she has a bounce in her step again.  We took a walk yesterday (with the stroller along, as usual) and Katie walked a mile without stopping to be lifted into the stroller.  That was a first!

I've been taking Glucosamine Chondroitin for years, and it's made a real difference in my joints.  I used to have knee and hip pain, but haven't had a twinge in YEARS.  I think it's really working for Katie, too.  They say it takes a month or so to start noticing improvement, and that's what I've found, with both Katie and myself.  It would be nice if we could go back to taking walks without the stroller along.  :)

Here's Katie in her new halter:

And that's it for now.  From me and Katie, take care everyone!  :)