Notes Along the Reptile Road

In case you forgot about the Faris rattlesnake I thought I would share the slideshow with you again because our reptile friends seem to have been active.

I’ve been out walking again and today I renamed the asphalt, “the reptile road.”

Why?

Because of all the smushed reptiles and amphibians.

I saw the first one over on Grout Bridge.

Somehow I missed it because I haven’t walked over the bridge on that side for a couple of days.

It was flat as a pancake–good sized snake and hard to identify.

Smushed things are difficult that way.

The next one was over on Seminole, off to the side. Probably a garter snake.

Then a very big frog was smushed over on Chickasaw.

When the weather is hot, reptiles get more active because they are exothermic–dependent on outside heat sources (instead of endothermic like we are).

This is why they like the nice, warm asphalt.

Sadly, vehicles don’t tend to like small creatures and so they end up very flat and unidentifiable.

Now with a lot of the rodent population down these critters might be traveling long distances for squirrel snacks and other tidbits.

The chipmunk and ground squirrel populations seem to be thriving but I just have to wonder.

Go GG Go
So, to go off onto another tangent…

I’ve been really excited that I have been able to amble up hills and for longer and longer durations and intend to begin hiking again next week.

It has been a couple years since I have been well enough to do so–it is a big deal to me.

Shadow is going to be so very happy, too.

So exciting!

Katie (Shadow’s pal) heard the news and so has been limping around.

I told her that there was no chance that I’d be taking her on a hike (she is a small dog with tiny legs and no endurance) and today she was much better.

Such a faker–she certainly knows how to work a crowd and I wouldn’t put it past her.

However, the truth is that she bolted off for an adventure the other day and I think she bruised her paw.

Serves her right–she had the whole neighborhood out searching for her.

When she encountered part of the search party (her mom and Shadow), she acted like she didn’t know what the problem was.

Naughty girl!

Truckin’
But really, the big news around town is that we got a new garbage truck.

To those of you who don’t live around these parts–normally most of us head over to the dump to drop our garbage.

Some of the neighbors pay for pick-up service but not everyone does. You should know that the last truck was a disaster.

It leaked oil so bad that it left a trail of oil spots up and down the streets. You could actually tell how recently they passed by from those spots.

Now I happen to think that this was bizarre because we live in an area where you would think people would be more ecologically conscious and scrupulous–but it ain’t necessarily so.

Anyway, Andy spotted the new truck and said that the sanitation engineers (garbage men) had their chests puffed out and their heads held high as they navigated the streets of Fawnskin during their weekly duties.

They even turned on the fancy flashing lights to show off a little bit more.

Life is good in Fawnskin–new truck and all.

But wait!

More big news is that the cell tower in town is going to be upgraded in a month or so.

Wow, Fawnskin is on a roll!

CHPr Fun
Now over here on my deck, I’ve been having a grand time watching the local CHP pulling people over.

Can I get a “hallelujah?”

It just does GG’s heart good to see such actions.

Traffic has been streaming in and out of the valley through our little town of Fawnskin due to the temporary closure over across the dam as they work hard to make progress on the new Big Bear bridge.

Locals thought some of the Fawnskin businesses might have run some specials or put out sandwich boards inviting people to come in–but no such luck.

Another marketing opportunity lost.

However, those California Highway Patrol dudes have made sure people are adhering to the speed limit and are not allowing those stupid tourist tricks to occur.

Good thing I did that nice write up for them–right?

I mean, it just has to be because of the Fawnskin Flyer’s great reporting that we are getting all this great service!

So, okay, yes–I miss the antics of oxygen deprived drivers but I really like the flashing lights and short siren bursts as the CHP pull people over.

Plus, there is nothing like a man in a uniform…

Anyway, I still think they should set up cameras that are triggered by speeding vehicles and then just send those tickets in the mail.

It would likely slow people down in the future and give us some nice funds for the road maintenance–and maybe for cinder clean up now that I think about it.

Wow, is it really Friday? Have a great weekend and I’ll be back on Monday.



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This entry was posted on Friday, July 30th, 2010 and is filed under Mountain Lake Resort, Small Town Living.

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2 Responses to “Notes Along the Reptile Road

  • 1
    BadBear
    July 31st, 2010 12:53

    Now that new law 1070 has gone into effect on the south shore, the large number of illegal squirrels that we have been feeding, and caring for, will soon be deported back to the north shore.
    It is bad enough that we have given them shelter, food and medical, but to make things worse, we cannot understand a word they say, and they refuse to learn our language.
    So, folks of Fawnskin, take pleasure in knowing, as each of your previous residents break the south shore laws, ICE will be notified, and they will be sent back.

  • 2
    GG (Gossip Girl)
    August 3rd, 2010 08:20

    LOL we will be awaiting their arrival.