Stone Branch, build it, they will come.

I found another big fresh shed in my maple woods burn area over the weekend.

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The skin is 60".

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Counting the scales between the vent and rattle indicates that the shed skin came off of a female. Timber rattlesnakes exhibit sexual dimorphism, so this is one big ass female.

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I found a thesis paper online, Home Range and Behavior of Timber Rattlesnakes.

https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=etd#:~:text=Mean home range sizes were,44.7 ha, among sex classes.

The Lady did her research in West Virginia. She found that non gravid females have a home range of 42 acres and less for gravid females. Female home ranges do not overlap. This leads me to believe that the big sheds that I have been finding up there every year could belong to the same giant snake that I originally found up there back in May 2019.

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G
NOT what I was expecting when I read big shed on this site!
 
Nope just nope! That being said...On our place here in SW Missouri, we have seen more snakes this year so far than I can recall in previous years (I've lived on the property for 15 years now). You notice that? Or, since you're in the Kentucky mountains it doesn't matter :)
 
You are doing great with that log cabin. I had to take a nap after reading your posts.
As for the WV study on snakes, the DNR here is apparently worried about decrease population of Copperheads and Rattlesnakes with them requesting notifications of any sightings. I’m not a lover of either. Rat snakes and various black snakes I tolerate as I know they diminish poisonous numbers. So the DNR can just keep dreaming far as I’m concerned.
Keep up the good work.


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I found another big fresh shed in my maple woods burn area over the weekend.

View attachment 23886

View attachment 23887

The skin is 60".

View attachment 23888

Counting the scales between the vent and rattle indicates that the shed skin came off of a female. Timber rattlesnakes exhibit sexual dimorphism, so this is one big ass female.

View attachment 23889

I found a thesis paper online, Home Range and Behavior of Timber Rattlesnakes.

https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=etd#:~:text=Mean home range sizes were,44.7 ha, among sex classes.

The Lady did her research in West Virginia. She found that non gravid females have a home range of 42 acres and less for gravid females. Female home ranges do not overlap. This leads me to believe that the big sheds that I have been finding up there every year could belong to the same giant snake that I originally found up there back in May 2019.

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G
I thought you ate that one
?
 
NOT what I was expecting when I read big shed on this site!

I would like to find a booner deer shed but the truth is, I have yet to find a single shed here in Kentucky.

Nope just nope! That being said...On our place here in SW Missouri, we have seen more snakes this year so far than I can recall in previous years (I've lived on the property for 15 years now). You notice that? Or, since you're in the Kentucky mountains it doesn't matter :)

It has been a slow snake year so far, 1 copperhead, 0 timbers, 3 ring necks, 2 gray rats.

I thought you ate that one
?

No, I ate a smaller one the following year, one of two that I found 10' from my front porch.

You are doing great with that log cabin. I had to take a nap after reading your posts.
As for the WV study on snakes, the DNR here is apparently worried about decrease population of Copperheads and Rattlesnakes with them requesting notifications of any sightings. I’m not a lover of either. Rat snakes and various black snakes I tolerate as I know they diminish poisonous numbers. So the DNR can just keep dreaming far as I’m concerned.
Keep up the good work.
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Thanks Doug. I'm about one more load to the landfill to have the rats and past humans finally evicted from the rat hole.

Final room, master bedroom, to redecorate.

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Framed like a pallet.

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The roof structure is held up by the siding.

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G
 
Lot of great progress on your remodel. When I bought my old cabin on Lake Martin it had been called the "squirrel house". The roof had been hit by a massive pine limb, part of the limb was still in the cabin when I bought it. The owner was stationed in Mississippi and only had roofers put on a new roof and leave the eaves open so it could air out. Needless to say I found poop of various sizes. I cringed once when I found the snake skin!!
 
Bui
I would like to find a booner deer shed but the truth is, I have yet to find a single shed here in Kentucky.



It has been a slow snake year so far, 1 copperhead, 0 timbers, 3 ring necks, 2 gray rats.



No, I ate a smaller one the following year, one of two that I found 10' from my front porch.



Thanks Doug. I'm about one more load to the landfill to have the rats and past humans finally evicted from the rat hole.

Final room, master bedroom, to redecorate.

View attachment 23896

Framed like a pallet.

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The roof structure is held up by the siding.

View attachment 23898

G
Building a house without studs was common in the late 1800's, this a variation of balloon framing. When I remodel a building like this I stud 2x4 walls on the inside to make a straight and solid surface to attach drywall and insulation to.
 
Lot of great progress on your remodel. When I bought my old cabin on Lake Martin it had been called the "squirrel house". The roof had been hit by a massive pine limb, part of the limb was still in the cabin when I bought it. The owner was stationed in Mississippi and only had roofers put on a new roof and leave the eaves open so it could air out. Needless to say I found poop of various sizes. I cringed once when I found the snake skin!!

Thanks lak.

Bui

Building a house without studs was common in the late 1800's, this a variation of balloon framing. When I remodel a building like this I stud 2x4 walls on the inside to make a straight and solid surface to attach drywall and insulation to.

It is a perfect design to allow unrestricted access to rodents.

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G
 
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George - I don't know how you do what you do...Take a raw piece of property that needs lots of rehab and transform it into a jewel of a piece of property. Hat's off brother!
 
Tiny done found one out behind the barn this morning.

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I'm going to get some more pictures after a cup of coffee. I have half a mind to eat this one, but I believe it to be a female, looks to be preparing to shed it's skin. This one is as ornery as a rattlesnake.

G
 
I found another big fresh shed in my maple woods burn area over the weekend.

View attachment 23886

View attachment 23887

The skin is 60".

View attachment 23888

Counting the scales between the vent and rattle indicates that the shed skin came off of a female. Timber rattlesnakes exhibit sexual dimorphism, so this is one big ass female.

View attachment 23889

I found a thesis paper online, Home Range and Behavior of Timber Rattlesnakes.

https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1025&context=etd#:~:text=Mean home range sizes were,44.7 ha, among sex classes.

The Lady did her research in West Virginia. She found that non gravid females have a home range of 42 acres and less for gravid females. Female home ranges do not overlap. This leads me to believe that the big sheds that I have been finding up there every year could belong to the same giant snake that I originally found up there back in May 2019.

View attachment 23890

View attachment 23891

G

So cool. I’ve never payed eyes on a rattlesnake outside CA.


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I’ve seen a lot of rattlers in my travels but, this thread has me so riled up I saw a big garter snake today while mowing and just about jumped off the mower. LOL.
 
Save the neck for me!

U bet, I prefer the thighs.

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So cool. I’ve never payed eyes on a rattlesnake outside CA.
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I’ve seen a lot of rattlers in my travels but, this thread has me so riled up I saw a big garter snake today while mowing and just about jumped off the mower. LOL.

I had never found a rattlesnake in all my travels prior despite looking for them. I had a guide one time in Idaho tell me don't go into that canyon, it is full of rattlesnakes.

Flat Gap

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baby pictures.

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G
 
I hacked and squirt the understory canopy of red maple last summer then followed up with fire in December. A perfect example area of why oak forests are in decline.

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The forestry department calls it white oak initiative, okay, lift the burn bans and make it easier for me to grow white oaks.

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Me and the forester, and the Ranger tech were standing in this general location, a previous burn location, when the tech told me that he doesn't think that burning accomplishes anything unless you are burning 400 acres. I didn't counter his claim figuring that I will have time to shed some light. What originally was to be an 8 month wait till a forester could come out to draw up a Stewardship Plan has been shorted by about 6 months. The forester is setting up one of his foresters to be here the first week of August coinciding with the week that their office will have 4 interns from University of Kentucky. He wants the interns to study the work that I have done. For now my habitat work is on hold so I have time to just enjoy the fruits of my labor and start working on my barn.

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G
 
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Looking good G, and you deer appear to like the pokeweed. At my home, which is 20 minutes from my farm, they browse it like that too. However, at the farm, I have never seen it touched the first time. Go figure......
 
Looking good G, and you deer appear to like the pokeweed. At my home, which is 20 minutes from my farm, they browse it like that too. However, at the farm, I have never seen it touched the first time. Go figure......

Thanks Steve, I often find joe pye cut off at the waist too.

G
 
Looks great, G. I spent the last several days working at my place; Hot!! Hope you have AC over there in the branch. None at my cabin so slept in front of the fan. May be time to invest in a window unit.

Take a ride to town yesterday lunchtime? Heading home (eastbound) on the AA, a truck pulls from 1149 heading west just as I approached the intersection. Something clicked in my head: I think that's George's truck. Too late to wave or honk by the time I was pretty sure.
 
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