river talk

‘I don’t like spiders and snakes’

By SCOTT RANDO

Posted 10/29/25

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river talk

‘I don’t like spiders and snakes’

RR photos by Scott Rando

This neonate timber rattlesnake had followed an adult female (possibly its mother) out of a hibernaculum. It was a mild day, and even though both had reached the den, they took advantage of the warm sun in order to bask. There is also a male known to be using this den, as well as possible adults and young snakes. This neonate was born live in September, so it had about a month to be outside before preparing to hibernate.

RR photos by Scott Rando

This non-venomous neonate (baby) eastern rat snake was found at a timber rattlesnake gestation site that was active during the summer, and adult rat snakes were seen in the area over the summer. Adults can grow over five feet long; this baby, hatched during mid-summer, was around a foot long. Young rat snakes have distinctive black markings on a light background with saddle markings along the length of their backs. Adults are usually solid black with little or no indication of these juvenile markings.

RR photos by Scott Rando

This female marbled orb weaver is probably looking for a place to lay her eggs. They will overwinter and hatch during the following spring. The spiders build vertical webs to catch prey and are as big as a garden spider. Unlike the garden spider, which lies in wait at the center of its web, the marbled orb weaver lies in wait at the side of the web. It uses a silken “signal thread” to sense when prey is ensnared in the web.

Posted Wednesday, October 29, 2025 11:08 am

By SCOTT RANDO

With Halloween a couple of days away, most people are buying candy or pumpkins and getting all those scary skeletons, bats, spiders and snakes ready for trick-or-treaters. We all, including the kids, know that these are replicas of living or non-living things and part of Halloween festivities.

When it comes to the real “spooky” class of critters, though, many people are afraid, sometimes to the point of panic. They don’t even want to be in the same room with a spider or the other scary creatures mentioned. The truth is that none of these critters are aggressive and would rather avoid us. Writing this brings to mind Jimmy Stafford’s song, “Spiders and Snakes.”

We have had a couple of mild days, and I have been taking advantage of them to get a last look at the animals that I won’t see next month, due to the onset of colder weather. All the images in this column were taken during the third week of this month on public lands southwest of our region.