[MeekOneGOP]

Interesting hike too. Grew a few more grey hairs on it. I spotted a toad that I approached. Was just about to pick him up to show the kids and "talk about the toad" when a snake struck. The snake was apparently stalking the same toad. I was only a few inches away from being caught in that hunt! Felt the breeze from the snake as it passed my hand. (shivers!)

Whoa !! You'ze lucky, it sounds like !! What kind of snake was it ??? ...

http://www.3drealms.com/caught/snake/snakebite.jpg

The Western Diamondsback Rattlesnake is responsible for the most serious bites and highest fatalities from snakebites in North America. (Conant and Collins, 1991). Above is a photo of an arm envenomated with Crotalus atrox venom. Snakebites create medical emergencies when humans are envenomated. The venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is complex mixture of toxins. Hemorrhagins, the predominant toxins, are zinc metalloproteinases which cause extensive tissue damage, edema and hemorrhage in humans.

[Mama_Bear]

Oh my gosh.....that is just awful!!! I had no idea a venomous snake bite would do THAT. Very painful looking.

[Calpernia]

AHHHH! Meekie! Did you need to be so graphic!

I didn't even look up the snake yet. Now you have me curious. The entire reason for stalking the toad was to look him up in our Peterson Field guides we always carry with us. (my nerdie influence of teaching the kids to reference)

But I was so shaken by the closeness of that incident, I just pushed the kids away! Darn. I guess maybe we should have looked it up? Maybe I handled that wrong. Now I have to go get the field guide and read.