[Alan Bauer]

Just a fast note to let you folks getting interested in pushing out into the Columbia Basin areas to chase the beauty and wildflowers that I speak of so often around here....the rattlesnakes are awake now, at least in places. Today I spent a long time hiking around Potholes Wildlife Area and encountered the first rattlesnake not 4 minutes into my hike. By days end I had five separate rattler sightings so they were rather thick actually out there! But then again this is about as prime a location as possible: water abundance, HOT southwesterly slopes of dunes and sage on a day when temperatures were close to 80 degrees at noontime. Worst part of the day was that EVERY one of these five rattlesnakes shot under a sage plant immediately upon our encounter---NO PHOTOS!!!! But...I know you all will believe me ...and take note to watch yourselves in not getting in the mindset that "they might not be awake yet". They were beautiful! Time for the nightly tick check now...saw one of them as well.

[polarbear]

Do rattlers swim at all?

[Bushwacker]

You betcha! When I lived in Florida, I had a buddy with an airboat. We'd go into the Everglades to fish. There were many times rattlers and cottonmouths would swim up to the boat and get in! We had a big stick to knock them out. BW