Rattlesnakes And Runaways

High tide at Hunting Island, South Carolina

I missed all the excitement at the beach today, but thank goodness we were 20 minutes too late.

A rattlesnake washed ashore with the tide!  He was alive and he was BIG.  Different folks gave me sizes from four to seven feet long.   He began slithering down the beach, pretty as you please, while beach goers screamed and ran with a few braves souls venturing closer.

Someone got a hold of a ranger, who zipped out in his ATV, captured the snake and relocated him to parts unknown.

While at the beach a certain little doggy, who shall remain anonymous escaped from his harness and leash.  He ran merrily down the beach as fast as his little legs could go while his pet parent lumbered after him, unable to run at all.

AHEM... That be me...

I called him politely a few times, but  he just ignored me, pretending to be deaf.

The beach had lots of people just lazing about. I didn't want to scream with my you're-a-very-bad-doggy voice to disturb the otherwise tranquil afternoon. So I left him run like wild, because I knew he was a clown.  He would eventually settle on a human or a dog or both to pester. I could then catch up and capture the little miscreant.

He was wearing his screaming red T-shirt, so everyone could see him racing like a little hurricane, ears flopping, tail out long and straight, as if he was proving to one and all how fast he was.

It was far better entertainment than the rattlesnake on the loose.  People were laughing as I made a general fool of myself trying to apprehend a very naughty doggy who would grin at me, then run away.

Far down the beach a lady was letting her dog run free and chase a tennis ball. Harley promptly inserted himself into their game. So he was a tad surprised when I suddenly scooped him off his feet from behind and told him he was a bad boy.

He just hung his tongue out at me, breathing heavy with a silly grin and that look of "Oh it was SO worth it!"

Low Tide at Hunting Island, South Carolina

Tomorrow I am traveling towards my next workamping assignment, so you may not hear from me if I end up lost or out of internet range.