Snake in the Grass

I bet you thought the title was a reference to a metaphor, didn't you? Well  . . .

I encountered my first Mojave green rattler while I was out walking in the desert today. I didn't even notice it — I was walking down the middle of a sandy path, minding my own business, when a hiss and a rattle startled me.  I looked around and there was this beauty lying in the grass beneath a creosote bush. I moved ten feet away, then stopped and took a couple of photos. Apparently it didn't like having its p...