Spring brings with it all manner of sensory input. The sights, sounds, and smells. For me though it is the sounds that herald spring. From all the migraters returning, the critters moving around, the grouse thrumming, spring is a cacophony of joy. But there are two songs that make it official for me. The first is the whippoorwill, her night song is both haunting and comforting. The second is the arrival of the hummingbirds. Hearing those fast movers chasing each other on the porch is proof positive spring is here. They make it sound like there is someone wielding a lightsaber out there.
I’m familiar with many of the sounds of nature. I learned a new one last year. I had never heard it before in my copious number of years on this planet, but my body knew exactly how to react. This fat old woman was instantly able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
As I walked down a dirt road in the wildlife refuge, there was a sound in the tall grass. It was like an electrical current, a live wire. Adrenaline shot through me causing me to leap across the road. Looking back I saw a rattlesnake in the tall weeds. Looking angrily at me from a spot I was less than six inches from just moments before. She was in the striking position. I moved closer to be sure I wasn’t imagining things. I was not.
Who knew there were rattlesnakes in Wisconsin. Turns out there are two kinds, Timber and Massasauga. I had the good fortune to see the latter of the two. Not a common sight nor sound. I guarantee you they do not sound like they do on TV, not a rattle at all, definitely like the buzz of electricity. Don’t get me wrong, I love nature and being outside, but I am more than happy to view all fangs, claws and teeth from a distance.
May the buzz you hear never have fangs.
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