by Tom Blair
Columnist

When daylight savings time ends, that’s the time to head south for the winter. That’s right… get away from the cold, snow and wind. Enjoy heat, mountain lions and rattlesnakes instead. I’m just kidding – it’s doubtful you will see either of those in the Arizona winters.

You could see rattlesnakes when it’s really warm, if you were in the hills, desert or brushy areas, and if you really looked for them. But remember, rattlesnakes don’t like you and will take off the moment they hear you approaching.

The first two winters we spent in Arizona, we couldn’t find a snake no matter how hard we looked, and we spend most of our time in the desert and mountains. They hibernate in the winter; even if it’s 75 or 80 degrees, it’s cold enough at night to keep them in their dens.

Never count on a rattlesnake rattling; they don’t always give you a warning. I killed one last April that crawled right up in the middle of us, and when I used a rake to get him out from under my car, he never rattled, never coiled up, never struck at me or the rake. He was turned into a couple of hatbands and a guitar strap. You have to cook ‘em right – season ‘em, roll ‘em in batter and be prepared to chew hard!

Do not get bitten by a rattlesnake! The cost to treat a rattlesnake bite is $100,000 or more, IF there are no complications and you get to the hospital quickly enough. On rare occasions they will bite and NOT inject you with toxic poison, but not often.

Now, those mountain lions, they eat year ‘round and there are two or three thousand of them in Arizona, and many more bobcats. But they don’t like you either and will avoid humans, unless they have rabies, and that does happen from time to time. They like deer and mountain sheep better than humans.

We have spent many, many hours over the last seven years looking through our spotting scope and binoculars trying to see mountain lions in the mountains, caves and desert, but we haven’t seen one yet. We did see a bobcat, lots of coyotes, bighorn sheep, eagles, snakes, owls, rabbits, squirrels, quail, condors, lizards, roadrunners, hummingbirds and birds of all kinds.

Javelinas are plentiful; they are like small, wild pigs weighing 40 to 60 pounds, and they can be mean if you corner them or approach them. They eat anything, including prickly cactus, bugs and garbage. They run in herds of up to 20 or more, and even come into the city areas to eat fruit, pet food and garbage. In the hills and mountains they like caves, but under a trailer house will suit them fine. They are dirty, they have scent glands and they stink, but some of the locals say they’re good eatin’ if you cook ‘em well done.

Let me know when you’re ready to head south – the people are always smiling and happy down here in “God’s little waiting room.”

Tom “Road” Blair

Website: www.tomroadblair.com