Canyon Life

Life here in the canyon is an adventure almost  everyday. One never knows what they will encounter down the road or even in the garden.Now is rattlesnake season. I have a dreadful fear of snakes and I am living in their neighborhood. I don't like killing animals of any sort but rattlesnakes are another story.I don"t find many around the house and I think one reason is I have a huge King snake living under the back shed. King snakes, you might know are not susceptible to rattlesnake venom. In fact a king will kill and eat young rattle snakes, hallelujah! King snakes are not aggressive or dangerous to people so they are welcome guests. (as long as they stay out of the chicken coop.) Anytime I step outside I turn on my snake radar to avoid any scary encounters.

A little bit about San Timoteo Canyon. The canyon runs from Beaumont to Redlands CA about 20 miles.
There is a small creek running through the canyon, parallel to the creek is a double set of Union Pacific train tracks. This is an important east west corridor for all sorts of commerce. Probably 10 to 15  trains run through here per day. About once a week an Amtrak passenger train rushes through. I think it's called the Chieftan. The Chieftan goes from Los Angeles to Chicago, about a three day trip. I like the trains. When I moved out here I found the quietness of the country a little disconcerting. But late at night the roar of the massive engine and the scores of rattling and squealing cars gave me this weird sense of comfort.A sense that I wasn't that removed from civilization.

 I promised not to get too wordy so I will close for now and tell more about this historic canyon next time.
 So I leave you tonite with a garden pic to enjoy. Peace.