I want to hold that pot ‘o gold
It’s still spring, but the heat is coming. This past weekend a cold storm blew through the southwest, leaving snow in the high country and up to an inch of rain in the valleys. We got .20″ @ Rancho de Saub. It came around 2 am w/ a thunder boom, high winds and whipping rain. This is the last hurrah of cold weather for us, as temps will climb to the mid 90’s by later in the week. Yesterday was 72 in the sun w/ a cold wind making it downright chilly. Not unheard of weather for this time of year, as we’ve actually had snow in the valley some years back on an Easter Sunday @ the end of April. But certainly not common either. Won’t be long before the ice breaks on the Santa Cruz River as we hit 100 degrees for the 1st time.
An odd weather side note: The high Rockies, the headwaters of the mighty Colorado River, had an unusually dry March w/ winds that melted snowpack already on the ground and exacerbated an already worsening situation in regards to Lakes Powell & Mead’s storage capacity. Mead is at the level when 1st filled in the 1930’s. Nevada is drilling a lower suction pipe so it can keep pulling water for Las Vegas. Capacity is approx. @ 1/3 and Powell’s is just above 1/2. In the compact that binds the Colorado states water allotments California won’t lose a drop, everyone else does.
As I was coming home the other day, a red racer came slithering out from the side of the road. He was moving so fast that I couldn’t help but run over it. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw him roll in the road. I turned around for an inspection. By the time I returned to the spot of impact he was gone. Racers are fast, and can be aggressive, even though they’re non-venomous and constrictors, unlike rattlesnakes. This makes 3 snake sightings before May. I’ve probably averaged 20 encounters each of the last 2 years in my outdoor ramblings.
There was a time not too long ago that snake activity in my end of the world wasn’t this high. For the last 15 years or so I’ve been biking weekly in Tucson Mt. Park and I know what’s around my house, as I’m out on my acreage constantly doing what I have to do. I just know I’ve seen lots of snakes the last few years.
Trailside waiting for breakfast
Late last summer after a soaking rain Kevin and I ran into 3 different snakes on the same day within maybe a mile of each other. We had dropped off a hill and were about to cross a wash when I slammed on the brakes upon spotting a black- tailed rattlesnake in the gravel. Alley went and stood over top of the snake! Neither Alley nor the rattler made a move. We quickly got the dink away from danger and the black-tail moved off. 15 minutes later we were flying down an old jeep road and as I took a corner I saw a big one stretched out across the trail. I braked hard and did a reverse wheelie on my front tire before falling off to the side. Laying on the ground I quickly jumped up, I was way too close for comfort. A western diamondback of grand proportion. He must have just eaten and was non responsive to our presence. 50 yds. down the trail as we went to enter a break spot @ the dam there was another diamondback curled in the middle of the trail, this time a little guy, but just as dangerous.
The black-tail that we saw 1st I believe was the same one that gave me a scare the week before as I climbed a nearby narrow trail up above on the mountainside The trail is a steep drop on one side and a rocky mountainside on the other. He was right next to the trail as I rode by. He rattled to warn me off, which spooked me as I hadn’t seen him. You ever want the heebie jeebies, hear the rattle and not locate the snake. But on both encounters, the black-tail was non-aggressive.
Gila Monster on the move
We also have a gila monster that shows up on the property every spring for a few weeks. He’s due any day now. They’re an oddity in that they don’t defecate or urinate, so a bite is highly septic. They also hibernate for a good part of the year. But you’d have to try real hard to get bit by a gila monster as they just go about their business of poaching bird eggs or whatever else they can find to eat.
One smart Doodle
Maggie is snake trained and when she finds one she backs off and has a certain bark that she reserves for snakes. Last year an aggressive rattler tried coming out of the cactus, and across the driveway heading for the porch. Mags positioned herself so that the snake recognized an object in the way and began her bark. I came from the other side of the house, sized up the situation, and put the dog in the house. I turned the hose on the snake, sending him back into the cactus, thinking eventually he’ll just head out into the desert. Well, he did sort of. That damn snake doubled back around and tried coming back into the yard next to my bike shed. I let Maggie out after I thought the snake had left and she nosed around for a bit, located him again, backed off, and sounded her alarm. I was impressed.
Yesterday we rode in the coolness following the storm. The Palo Verde trees were in a blooming profusion of desert earth-tone colors. It was as if the landscape had magically been painted here, there and everywhere. The trail was damp, and we had the place mostly to ourselves. We added extra trail miles on and dawdled along the way. It was most likely the last cool ride we’ll see in Tucson Mt. Park until next October.
Old Pueblo Pedal & Paddle 