Dorothy, We have huge timber rattlers like that here on our property and they scare me to death. Once somebody ran over one and killed it in the road right by our mailbox. All day long people stopped to look at the huge size of that sucker, and you could even hear them hollering comments (I was in the garden 100' away from the road) like "Dang! That's a big snake!" Finally someone stopped and picked it up. They asked if I minded if they took it. Ha! I was tired of looking at it and was glad to see it go. Last year we came back from a fire on a 110 or 112 degree day when not a creature was stirring in the head and found a big timber rattler lying in the driveway. I guess it was sunning itself, and I said to Tim "Is it not hot enough for that thing without the reflected heat from the driveway?" Due to its proximity to the house, he was going to shoot it but by the time we parked and were out of the car it had disappeared. We have an unpleasant encounter with a big timber rattler the size of the one you described at least twice a year, and sometimes 4 or 5 times a year. There is a dense woodland between our house and the nearest house to our south, and the timber rattlers always seem to come out of that area. Although we have western diamondback rattlers and copperheads in the garden fairly often, I've never seen a timber rattler there and I think it is because the holes in the fence are too small for them to squeeze through. And, for whatever reason, I most often encounter pygmy rattlers in one specific area of the woodland and rarely see them any place else. I have a long list in my brain of areas coded "do not enter" in summertime because of frequent snake encounters in those areas. The farther west you go from our house and towards the river, the heavier the snake population. The far back part of the property near the western fence line is so full of copperheads that I do not go back there for any reason whatsoever during snake season. Our next-door neighbor was bitten on or near her ankle by a copperhead a few years ago. She got immediate medical attention but had a lot of trouble with her leg for quite some time. She couldn't walk and had to be in a wheelchair for maybe a month. It does seem like the swelling lasted a long time. I know that snakes are an important part of the ecosystem and we'd be overrun with rodents were it not for the snakes, but I hate it when they are lurking in the yard or garden. We try to keep the area up around the house, garage, and gardens snake-free, but ignore the ones that roam the rest of our acreage. We have 14.4 acres and we don't shoot snakes on roughly 13 of those acres. However, despite the fact that they control rodents and are very helpful in that regard, I still don't like them and never will. Dawn

This appears to be a copperhead. Dont let the dull colors fool you as I have killed many that looked just like that and at first I was confused but it was confirmed. They are abundant in Brazoria county and when I lived at Demi John I had the misfortune of dealing with many of them. Rarely will you find one over 2' lg and if it had a triangular head then that would confirm it. Nasty little snake can crawl under short grass and you will never see them. Keep you yard mowed short as the shorter the grass the less they like it.

Sorry-I rushed to post it because snakes in my garage freak me out! I took the pictures in the dark with my cell phone, so they're not the best.

Sherry, I am encouraged! Kaboehm, now I am discouraged! :-) Seriously, I know in my heart that our native snakes don't want an encounter with humans but just the thought of reaching under a plant and discovering a snake is scary. Just being a foolish old woman! Yes, Sherry, I agree. An old pasture would be perfect for growing native milkweed. If I can locate a small piece of land close in I might just do that. I'm removing plants in a section of raised bed this fall to prepare it for growing more milkweed next year. For the past week, I have at least one Monarch in my garden every time I look. I wonder if they hang around or if these are different ones? I've never seen so many Monarchs and hope this means the numbers are improving this year. Sometimes I just sit down to watch and enjoy them. Coming back up on the deck this morning, a big giant swallowtail was up there flying about a tiny Rue plant I have growing in a big pot. As I watched, it landed and laid an egg on it. I ordered some of those big tulle bags with the drawstrings that someone recommended and I think I'll cover this plant with one of those to try and protect the egg. Once it hatches, I'll have to move it down to a larger Rue plant, which I will also cover. The little cats always disappear when I try and leave them outside so I'll try bagging the plant and see if they can survive outside. I've got so many Monarch babies to feed and tend now, I've no time to try and raise other little cats. Mary