Thursday Night Thunderstorms

[allardjd 1,853]

This greeted me this morning after thunderstorms Thursday night.

[mutley 4,498]

:yes:

Was that downed by a strike?

I see you have the company transport up and running again, do you have a log burning stove? or perhaps you will make some natural habitat for the snakes.

Cheers

[mutley 4,498]

By the way, what is the make of your tractor, not John Deere by chance? as "Nothing runs like a Deere" (Ask Dai) :yes:

Cheers

[allardjd 1,853]

I don't think it was a lightning strike. It was from a wind gust, I believe.

It's a Craftsman tractor (Sears House Brand). Definitely not a Deere. John Deere's are more of an emerald green, and they charge a lot of extra money for that shade of green paint.

I have a 5 HP chipper for anything up to about 2" diameter. The bigger stuff I cut up and stack and use for fuel when I burn out stumps. I tried digging one out once - bad idea.

John

[MartinW 0]

But what about those nasty snakes you get in florida John? :sadblinky: See many when you're gardening?

[allardjd 1,853]

In four years I've seen snakes in the yard five or six times, all harmless varieties. Most are small - some of the larger ones are beneficial, e.g. Ribbon Snake and Black Snake. Saw a dead coral snake in the road about a mile from home, seriously venemous, but with a very small mouth and unable to bite a person except in the web between thumb and forefinger. Around two years ago we saw about a 4-1/2 ft. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, very much alive, a quarter mile from home. That was a serious snake - did not get out of the car to have a closer look.

The local hawks, which are plentiful, like them a lot. Ditto the owls we hear every night, I suspect, but of course we don't see that happening.

I'm very careful in the yard, never walk to or from the barn in the dark without a light, never put my hands under something I can't see under, watch where I'm walking. The lot behind my house is very wild and wooly, so they have a better habitat there than in my yard, which is mowed (more or less) and has more activity.

Most snakebites in Florida are Pygmy Rattlesnakes, small, but ill tempered.

John.

[MartinW 0]

It's like a different world to us John. We don't give such things a thought. Only thing that bothers us is the occasional bee sting. Must be weird, but I suppose you get used to such precautions.

I would imagine you have emergency procedures in mind in case of something nasty giving you a nip?

[mutley 4,498]

Hey John,

I've been trying to persuade Lisa a visit to Florida would be nice!!

Good job she doesn't read our forums. (She would if there were horses on it )

Cheers

[allardjd 1,853]

A visit to Florida would be nice.

Ocala is, in fact, horse country. In the US, the Ocala area is second only to Lexington KY in horse breeding. There's a huge horse sales complex right across from the airport. On the ramp there are a pair of cleated ramps (like the old air-stairs) for loading and unloading horses, for use with the 727 freighters that fly them in and out for the sales. There are at least four breeding farms within 5 miles of us large enough to have their own tracks - training only though, betting is illegal.

John

[allardjd 1,853]

Martin,

Yes, have a snake bite kit in the medicine chest, with one of those spring loaded vacuum devices. Know the best route to the nearest 24 hour facility and have their phone number in the cell phones so we could let them know we're coming if it ever happens - since we're prepared, it won't.

This is new to us, too, as Michigan had few snakes and very, very few venemous ones. Our precautions are overkill. Snake bites are rare, but like alligators and sharks, they're here and one should be careful.

John

[MartinW 0]

Ocala is, in fact, horse country.

Joe, a word of warning!!!

Don't take Lisa to florida, if what John tells us is correct, she would almost certainly be flying back with a horse sat next to her on the plane... INSTEAD OF YOU! :sadblinky: