is the lead in to Jeffrey Saut's excellent market commentary. Of course, with my garden encounter this weekend, the aphorism resonated particularly pointedly!
If you are not a regular listener of Saut, you may wish to add him to your resource list. I thought today's commentary was particularly good. His commentary is not daily, but you can count on him for 3 or so days. The written transcript is available the following day.
I hope that you'll take time to listen to today's commentary.
6 comments:
I seriously doubt that garter snake was going to sneak up on you and bite you. Your seeing it was irrelevant.
However, it could swallow a newt that that would kill you:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2dqdp3
Ah, the point was he was unseen (and unsuspected), and he really did spring from the ground. So had he been a snake with some substance to actual inflict harm, he would have qualified as the snake that I did not see.
The only poisonous snakes we have are copperheads, and they don't burrow in the ground.
It's been unusually snakey around here this year, I'm not sure why. Last year I saw nary a one. I've seen about 7 (too many) already this year.
Russell, this was a fascinating article on the snake/newt (currently in detente!) chemical warfare.
I guess armed with a metal implement the snake's chemical superman qualities are moot. But I never kill snakes--even the poisonous ones--though my husband dispatched a largish copperhead that I found coiled around one of the shrubs around my home (and around which I was weeding). Now that was an unpleasant surprise.
But copperheads are generally shy--but unfortunately, I've known three people that have been bit by one (one a child). One=boy scout function snake in an area where the boy had leaned back on his hands. Snake bit him on the thumb. He almost lost it.
Two=friend's wife was in driveway (with her horse)in the evening. Snake bit her in the ankle. Doc said that is was particularly bad because the snake was literally loaded for bear. She had to be hospitalized, with problems with swelling continuing for more than a year.
Three=friend's young son. Playing, uncovered a snake which leapt at him and bit him. He goes running inside saying "Daddy, daddy I don't want to die". Our friend finally calmed him down to understand what had happened. Found and killed snake. That bite, even though with the youngest, had the least health disruption.
If/when I get bit by a snake, I'll just die from a heart attack.
We have copperheads (and water moccasins, corral snakes, and rattlers). More copperheads then anything else.
I don't know anyone who has been bit. So either:
a) Virginians are tastier to snakes
b) Virginians are slow
c) the North Carolinians didn't survive long enough for me to meet them.
or (d) you need to meet more people!
I don't know where you live, but I'm in the solid middle of copperhead habitat--woods/water (as were the people bit!)
(d) you need to meet more people!
LOL
I actually do get out some. Part of it is that in my neck of the woods and within my industry (large commercial construction) there are relatively few natives to this area. In addition, I don't consistently ask people if they have been snake bit. But none-the-less, I don't seem to hear as many "encounter with snake stories as I used to."
I did run into a garter snake that lived under a rock in our side yard. It did not hiss at me or chase me around though. It was very much the lady or gentleman. LOL
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