by statesofminds

Created on: April 28, 2008

I groggily groped for my alarm clock as I slowly pulled myself upright from my mid-afternoon nap. I went about my normal waking routine, stumbling around on still sore legs and feet from the previous night's work; I had a dream job for an outdoors-man, getting paid to hike at night time in the Florida Everglades with all the critters! My normal everyday situations would be very unusual to most people. As I got ready, I had the curious feeling that this night would be a true adventure by any standards an intuition that would prove correct soon enough.

It was summer, which is part of the rainy season. Tropical downpours heavy enough to penetrate any rain gear occur nearly every day, but the rain is rather predictable, happening around the same times each day. A detail oriented person can easily tell if rain is coming by the feel of the air and behavior of animals. Most animals search for shelter, while others tend to become very aggressive, as in the pygmy rattlesnake that was laying on the back patio and chased me a few feet when I stepped outside.

There is a little trick to moving a rattlesnake (I did not wish for either a person or the snake to be hurt). Rattlesnakes are pit vipers-they have heat sensors in the "pits" underneath their eyes to help them find and target prey as well as find warm spots when their blood needs to be heated. If a person steps near to them, they can easily detect the heat and may feel threatened. By using a long stick to gently move the snake, the snake is kept at a safe distance from the person and is far more calm because it does not sense the person's heat as closely.

After moving the snake, I continued on my way to check things out. I was in a playful mood even though I only had about an hours nap in two or more days. I had planned to have help for the night, but my staff member had called off; it was both good and bad-I was tired and would have welcomed someone to share the work, but hiking non-stop would keep me awake and more productive, as well as enable me to cover more ground and find different wildlife.

The last embers of dusk faded, leaving me in darkness. The moon would rise in a few hours and light the night for about three hours before letting darkness settle in again. I silently walked through the terrain, hearing occasional thunder mingled with animal chatter and movement as the forest came alive. One co-worker reported seeing a bobcat the morning before, and I truly hoped to catch a glimpse of it.

There was a noisy armadillo

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>