A couple of snake stories (many of us have many of them)...as a fearless but respectful 16 year old nature counselor at Boy Scout camp in Virginia, I had a "pet" timber rattler in a cage on my desk. It was much darker than the one in the article, generally slate and black. it was taken to the Philadelphia zoo at the end of summer.
Next...in 1991 I went to see the eared trogon (quetzal now) near Miller peak in Arizona. Walking out, on a narrow trail, I had placed my right foot 18 inches from a black tailed rattler which I had not seen, and almost had my left foot down when I heard the rattle...like grease on a griddle. I took a few more steps, then took the time to get excellent photos of the coiled rattler.
Nature is great, and we are so fortunate to be able to spend some timeout in it.
Karl Stecher
Aurora