Nellie begins to perk up and get antsy between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., anticipating the evening walk to the mailbox -- her favorite time of the day. The only valid reason to forego the walk would be a strenuous hunting trip with Mike and/or Ken. Often an evening walk is just Kathy and Nellie. In fact, if Mike rides his bike late in the afternoon, Nellie will insist upon a walk during that time. The walk is signaled when Kathy puts on her visor. Even if Mike goes along, Nellie insists this evening routine must include Kathy. The walk is two miles round trip if you’re a human – five miles for Nellie, who enjoys “off road” adventures.
Last night (Monday, 9-10), Nellie went on point ahead of us humans, indicating something in the tall grass beside the road. Cautiously, gingerly, she began to move in, but just then I picked up on a faint rattle. “Rattlesnake!” I said. Nellie backed off -- Mike and I peered into the grass from a safe distance. Yes – there it was – a specimen of the Northern Pacific Rattler.
“Watch where you walk and stay out of the tall grass,” my dad would remind me every year. It’s still good advice. In my grandmother’s letters she speaks of the snakes. “Seen any snakes lately?” the neighbors still ask.
Today (9-10) the sky is hazy with smoke. We can smell it. Our view of the canyon is obscured.
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