Rattlesnake!
It was a dark and quiet night in Lake Havasu. Jan and I were sitting on our porch watching the night go by. Flirt was on the patio below us looking over the patio wall.
Then I heard that sound. I’ve never heard a rattlesnake — only in movies — but the rattling sound was unmistakable.
As soon as I heard that sound, I called Flirt away from the patio wall and Jan, myself, and Flirt hightailed it into the house . . . all the while the rattle was getting louder and louder.
While Jan texted our neighbor Gary to come rescue us, I went out on the patio again with a flashlight to see if I could locate the snake. Let’s just say I was very, very, very, very cautious.
Sure enough, there was a good sized rattlesnake about 4 feet away from where Flirt’s head had just been. The snake was coiled up on the ledge on the other side of our patio wall.
Neighbor Gary, who has killed several rattlers this month, arrived with his snake-killing gear, and here’s what happened next . . .
Finally, did you notice that the snake seemed to keep on ticking even after its head was cut off?
Someone at Crazy Horse Campground was bit by a decapitated snake — so was this guy.
rvSeniorMoments 
It was worth getting up to see. Thanks Tom.
GAAAAAAAAAA… So your neighbor’s been killing rattlers this month.. is this some kind of ‘rutting’ season for rattlers? Yikes.. really glad no one was injured. By the way.. good ear Tom! AND… really good to have a neighbor such as GARY… Yay GARY !
Mary
Yes, it was real creepy. Jan doesn’t want to leave the house now.
Found this article: https://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu/whatsnew/snakedance.html Your guy may have been setting up a territory and was feeling very territorial.. ?? Could not quite id this one. Was it a Western diamondback or a Mohave rattlesnake? the Mohave is said to have the strongest venom in the US. Nice.
More info: https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/rattlesnakes
âDiamondbacks have both a spring and a late summer/fall breeding season â other rattlesnake species have only a single breeding season.
And then I ran into this photo and had to laugh.. Looks like a form of entertainment for otherwise bored birds.. 🙂
Mary
I want a mongoose.
OH MY!!!!!! That was a wee scary. Thank goodness Flirt didn’t go for the snake. We have Massasauga rattlesnakes here… I’ve seen two, heard one. Not a sound you like to hear…. but a good thing you did. Did you keep the rattle?