Mike in the Wild

The biggest fear for every Arizonan is running into a rattlesnake, worse even than encountering a scorpion or tarantula.  While it's not uncommon to find the two arachnids around your home, you're fortunately much less likely to find a rattlesnake in your yard.  I actually thought I discovered a baby rattler in my garden two weeks ago while watering a recently planted tree.  The small snake squirmed and slithered while the water slowly encroached in the planter box.  Only about a foot long and quite skinny, the reptile looked like a rattlesnake to me except for its lack of a rattle, which hasn't yet formed in very young rattlers.  With a yard-long garden stake, I raised the timid snake to get a better look and snap a few photos with my cellphone before finally allowing the animal to coil defensively in a tiny, dry landscape light. The snake isn't the only reptile living in my Phoenix backyard.  As soon as the days begin to lengthen in late winter, a large d...