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However, unlike other viperids they will often "freeze" instead of slithering away, and as a result many bites occur from people unknowingly stepping on or near them.[11] This tendency to freeze most likely evolved because of the extreme effectiveness of their camouflage. When lying on dead leaves or red clay, they can be almost impossible to notice. They will frequently stay still even when approached closely, and will generally strike only if physical contact is made.
Yep, I almost stepped on this bugger. Looks like a close call...lol.
Once, I was fishing with a buddy in a creek in north Florida, and the boat drifted towards where trees overhung the water. My friend said, "Don't move." I said, "Why?" He said, "trust me." He paddled the boat very slowly away from the tree and then told me I could look back. Behind me, there was a HUGE cottonmouth snake dangling from a branch, and he told me that its head was less than a foot from my head. Had the boat drifted just a bit more, there would be no NorthStarDelight posting on this forum.
Some photos from a week ago. Visited the New York Botanical Garden (Bronx). Last week there is ahead plant-wise of us now. A nice perk from the urban heat island. Here are the outdoor plants, might show the indoor greenhouse plants later, though obviously the greenhouse doesn't reflect local seasons.
The park map labelled this spot "daffodil valley":
But a lot spring flowers weren't out yet. Bluebells?
Flowers on the tree
Rock garden
close-up of a growing fern
Spoiler
with a fake waterfall. Does New York City have any natural ones?
More evidence of the subtropical nature of New York City's climate:
Stopped on the drive out. Took a photo of the area I parked my car in:
Looks like England badly needs rain. Thankfully we rarely have that problem.
Here are our precipitation figures for 2015 so far...
Jan: 52.0mm
Feb: 38.0mm
Mar: 24.4mm
Apr: 12.6mm
Total: 127.0mm (average to the end of April is 181.4mm), so only a bit below normal. Do you get heathland in the US? It looks dry even in the winter, those photos don't look unusual (apart from the flames).
Some other photos of typical heathland environments.
Pictures taken yesterday at Ringing Rocks park in the highlands of southeast PA. I'm betting it'll look nothing like this anymore less than 2 weeks from now, with the rapid warming starting around May 3! This past week somewhat stunted our progress, with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s
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