Snake vs 410 *beware PETA*

[knucklehead]

Disclaimer - this isn't aimed at anyone here! Merely an opinion!

I gotta go with Bird on this one. What-when-where-how. We've been known to let them be, and we've been know to wipe them out - wasps, spiders, moths, mice, groundhogs, wetlands, and the all-you-can-eat special at the China Pearl......

Chicken wings fear my name.

My brother took out a charging groundhog with a hammer when he was in his early teens. Other brother mowed one down with the old JD 112. But we didn't kill 'em when the garden was done. We've hogged a big circle around nests of birds and had ugly patches in the field, avoided the pole pile when it had wasps under it (they gotta be good for something besides skunk food, right?), and generally left other things and places alone while creatures where there. Dad & Mom still have a low spot down back on the lawn that ducks use - so do we, and we may not fill it in because of "our ducks" each Spring, even though it can be a West Nile factory.

Think that slick coat stuff everyone's using on the underside of their deck will work with gopher guts?

How do we know which species are supposed to die back and which are not? Bottom line - I'll decide locally. Look at our coyote and turkey populations - if you want to save something, make a hunting season for it! Creatures are more resilient than we want to think - and I think they often make convenient defenseless excuses for other agendas. Once we hurt enough people via job loss, all of a sudden we had way more Spotted Owls than we thought - but are they back cutting? Something be stinky with that deal. Coyotes are running through cemetaries (ick!) in Portland, and some Southern Islands are overrun with deer (and ticks), resulting in huge dilemmas to the beautiful people living in the area.

"Can I squish that tick, Dearie, or shall we call the reloction team?"

Seems O.K. to hurt people to the same folks who don't want us to step on bugs. And it's funny how those same folks always want someone else to do the saving. They all seem to be buying up farmland, shoreland, and wild places and turning them into personal Valhallas just as fast down In Southern Maine, but want everyone else to give up life, land, and livelyhood to have a huge park just up the road. Then they can live their idyllic existence (but not too far from Starbucks) with the money they made elswhere.

RESTORE BOSTON! Leave Maine's North Woods Alone!!

I think the snake asked for it. Some others up here are starting to get on our nerves, too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


See disclaimer, again. I mighta got a little excited, there.

 

[ELMO67]

PETA= People eat tasty animals. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[19th_VA]

A couple of posts got deleted--not sure why, but one more closly stated my philosophy which thanked the good lord that we live in a country where a man's home is HIS castle. I know your comment was directed at bellwether, but I live in the South and will assure you we have PLENTY of snakes down here. I feel in good company to be with wroughtnharv on this one. God knew what he was doing when he created the heavens and the earth and snakes are here for a reason. That doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves and each man has to decide that one for themselves. However, if we kill ALL the snakes we may mess up a pretty darn good plan. I wish I could figure out where mosquitos and ticks fit in, though. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[knucklehead]

John - never really said welcome, but welcome! I enjoyed the pictures on your web site.

We've had some pretty lively discussion here in the "related topics" forums regarding ethics, politics, religion, and faith (last two get mixed up all the time - part of the problem). Some of us really spent a lot of time on it, and although it was never clearly stated, it was implied that the moderators were also working to keep things civilized. Regardless of the actual motivating factors, a decision was made to limit that kind of conversation - there's even a discussion of it here.

I had and still have mixed feelings about the limitations, but we're here at the invitaion of our hosts, and it's their fair decision to try to keep this site pretty closely related to tractor issues. Some of the things you wrote may have, in the opinion of our hosts, warranted editing. I'm sure they will privately email you on this if necessary. Whether it bothers you or me or not, it's their "house" and we're guests, so that's the way it is.

I was kinda wondering if this thread would get edited if it got into envireligion. Maybe not; maybe only faith issues get edited.....but it's still their site. Best to keep a sense of humor about it. Private mail me if you want to holler about it; I'll holler with you and we'll feel better.

 

[soarkrebel]

I will agree that i havent figured out the good of a tick or skeeter either! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
But we have to live with them. no matter how many you swat they just keep coming back.

Now i don't kill every snake . the one i had to shoot the other day just kept hanging around the house. i would see him and the sucker would slither off. i have young kids and he had to go.
We each have different opinions based on how we were raised. i was raised on a farm by my grandparents. we had large gardens and my grandfather taught me at a young age to take care of pests like coons and even deer. we had a depreditation permit and killed a bunch of them. but you know what they just kept coming back .
Man i wish fur would get popular again. i might go into trapping full time.

everybody has a opinion and i guess we need to respect each others opinion. it would be pretty boring if we all agreed! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Phred]

Your right I was thinking mass not VA when I said up north. But its all realative. I use to live in VA and thought I knew about critiers like ticks and snakes....not in the same league as around here. Warm winters and hot summers means a bumper crop of both.
Besides aren't you close enough to NOVA to be called a Yankee....? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Just kidding...
But then again Atlanta is about as southern these days as baltimore.

Fred

 

[19th_VA]

Yea we had a pretty good winter this year, so hopefully we'll be seeing less of all types of annoying critters, including Yankees!!!! (get a lot of retirees from certain northern cities/states). Most of 'em are great, but if I hear one more time up in such and such you can get such and such, but down here....AAAHHHH! I say Yankee go home if things were so much the better up there.

I don't really hate yankees, though. In fact, my whole family are Yankees (except me of course).

As for being close to NoVa, up there the true southerners like to say they are from "southern fairfax" instead of northern virginia. I live cville for the time being but will relocate to lexington when the kids are growed up. With Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson buried within a few miles of our property, I feel pretty comfortable with our southern credentials.

Haven't been to Atlanta for a while now but I know it and many other cities in the sunbelt are being urbanized, cosmopolitanized, and yankeeized. This has its good and bad points. On the good side--a nice corned beef sandwich. On the bad side--too fast a pace.

 

[Phred]

Sounds like you have the best of both worlds.

I use to be from that forgoten part of virginia down in the far west corner.
You can't beat that drive down 81 south though.
Must be one of the nicest sections of road any where in the fall.
The blue ridge park way is even better if you have the time...buts its slow going.

Fred

 

[Phred]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I believe your perp is a Northern Water Snake.)</font>

How can you tell? Appears to have more than a minor similarity to a Western Cottonmouth which is common in Arkansas. http://www.snakesofarkansas.com/index.php?list=snake&list_id=49&jump=list/account.php

Hard to tell from the picture.

 

[Tractors4u]

The snake in that was shot has a narrower head. The cottonmouth has a broader head with a smaller neck tapering to a wide body. Typically a cottonmouth is a fat snake. Judging by the apparent length of the one in the picture, if the one in the pic were a cottonmouth, it is a very thin one.