So a fella goes to Wal-Mart to buy some mulch for his legal marijuana plants. Nothing unusual so far, eh? He goes to brush a stick out of the way and ouch! It’s just a small but not-so-inoffensive rattle-snake. He survived, the shopper that is.
Sometimes it’s not SO boring living in Vikingland!
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/15/oukoe-uk-usa-walmart-rattlesnake-idUKBRE84E02N20120515
Boadicea's Chariot 
I once stepped on a rattle snake. It just slithered away and didn’t bother me.
Don’t hold your breath, Janus… before long even Viking land will be invaded by lethal beasties. I believe that some very nasty insects have taken up residence in the UK lately …
… and I don’t mean two legged ones wearing odd clothing – but multi-legged monsters that give extremely uncomfortable bites!
I’ve had a couple of fairly close encounters with rattlesnakes in California, but they didn’t bite me either.
One more good reason not to shop at Walmart. Reptile was probably Chinese everything else in there is.
LW, Prince Philip would now make a remark about the rattle-snake’s eyes!
Have you see Phil the Bubble’s latest one?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/9269668/Duke-of-Edinburgh-cant-resist-risque-comment-as-he-meets-woman-in-zip-up-dress.html
The dreaded tick is already a danger here. Decided to walk about in a space-suit….
Anyone that shops in Walmart deserves to be bitten! (Preferably by another customer!)
In Memphis the whole place was infested with snakes, mainly water moccasins, the dogs used to put them up in the hedges surrounding the golf course on a regular basis.
The creepiest I ever saw was a trip in a pirogue in the bayou country to a picnic on an island. Long light poles were loaded, far too flexible to use as punt poles but the same length.
When I asked, told to wait and see their use.
We set off, the backwater was covered with arched trees with the branches festooned with snakes like christmas decorations, I shit you not! Two guys stood in the front of the boat and beat at the branches before we passed under them, snakes dropped out into the water, most swam away but a few actually tried to attack the boat, these bastards are about 5′ long.
Talk about requiring a stiff upper lip and clean underwear!
These snakes are very aggressive they try to attack car wheels, you see them squashed all over the levees throughout the deep south.
You have just two hours for an anti venom kit shot with those bastards. Most people who go there buy their own but they are available everywhere, like garages etc, as the hospitals are too sparse on the ground.
But then, I suppose you could be bored to death in Denmark where the snakes are two legged and wear turbans! (The pisser being that you are not allowed to dispose of them in a ‘righteous’ manner!)
Môre Janus
Snake in the grass? 😉
CO, how true! Akshully owing to the xenophobic tradition here there are relatively few turbans, except the female veil kind, but they are locked up safely at home.
This story with your excellent embellishments confirms my view that ancient peoples knew where to settle – away from creepies and beasties and floods and stuff.
Agreed! The only time it was safe to walk in the forests down there was in the winter when they were hibernating.
PLUS, not only those snakes but tarantulas and black jaguars! All in swampy jungles. Forget it!
At least rattlesnakes tend to live in drier more desert style places and you have a sporting chance of seeing them coming through less vegetation!!