When animals make me squeal like a 5 year old in front of strangers...

Yesterday, I took my dog, PS, for a hike.  As usual, she was off leash in blatant disregard for the rules, but I digress.  PS enjoys running ahead of me, turning around and laying on the "you're too slow" guilt or attempting to catch a squirrel unawares. She never catches anything, with the exception of cactus needles which I then painstakingly remove over the next few days to her great annoyance.

As I watched PS in her primal wilderness mode, the thought of rattlesnakes crossed my mind.  I have never seen one on this particular trail, but they must be here.  The thought came and went, as thoughts often do and we went about the business of communing with nature.  Once we reached the predetermined turn around spot, we...well...turned around and headed back to the trail head.

We hadn't gone a half mile before I saw and heard people ahead.  I hooked the leash on PS's collar and surveyed the situation.  There was a man and woman on the trail ahead of us.  The woman was yelling at their little dog to STAY!  She began to creep around off the trail and, with a huge sigh of relief, leashed her dog.  Assuming the little dog was some kind of killing machine, I cautiously moved forward with PS in tow.  I kept waiting for the woman to confirm that her little dog did in fact kill and possibly eat hikers, but she looked up at us and said, "There's a rattlesnake on the trail."

Oh. A rattlesnake.  Well why all the fuss.  By this time I can hear the little darling hissing and rattling, as rattlesnakes are known to do. The snake is now between the man and woman.  She states that they are from Chicago and have NEVER seen a rattlesnake in their lives.  The man is attempting to go off trail and avoid the snake while asking how far they can strike.  Don't look at me dude, I don't intend to provoke an attack.  He safely makes it past the snake and we let the dogs meet. There was no killing done by either dog and so the meeting can be called a success.

Now being the very cool Western US resident that I am, PS and I proceed toward the snake.  There is no more hissing or rattling at this point so everything is cool.  The woman asked if I would like them to watch the snake while I go off trail around it.  I assured her that I was cool like the other side of the pillow and would not need their assistance.  Snakes are no big deal after all.  Everything will be just fine.

And it was...until we were directly in front of the very grumpy snake.  At the very moment that he began to hiss and rattle, I let out a SQUEAL and pranced away.  Yes, squeal and prance.  And that my friends is how to deal with a rattler on the trail.

Bless that couple for not laughing at me, but thank goodness I can laugh at myself. :)

Rattler!

First strike target :(