A quick update on 'Snake in the Grass' post

Hi everyone....some of you might of seen Dartford Warbler's comment about my post Snake in the Grass........

"Dartford Warbler21 March 2014 12:03

She is beautiful. We have them in the garden and on the New Forest heathland here, but they are secretive creatures and we rarely see them."

I couldn't respond at the time but now I would like to add and share my response here in this post. 
Please note that I was brought up in the New Forest.
Hope you get to see this Dartford Warbler.   It's a little bit of a story I recall from my childhood days.


"My Grandad had been an AA (Automobile Association) man years ago.  Not in a sleek modern van like nowadays, he rode back in the day on a motor bike with sidecar.

He was also a First Aider - this was through the St. John's Ambulance Association...so he knew what he was doing.  

One particular day his two rolls of AA and First Aid met.  You see, he was on patrol with the AA around the New Forest when he was riding through Burley.   He came across a group of people who stopped him near the Cricket Pitch.  Apparently a man had sat down to watch the cricket and had inadvertently sat on an Adder's nest and got bitten!!!   (and NO, before some of you jump the gun and think 'did he suck the poison out' ....Not likely.)   He calmed everyone down and got an Ambulance out to take the poor man to hospital.   By keeping the man calm, he stopped the poison going through the chaps system too quickly, and fortunately the man was okay."

And to this day....I cannot drive past the Cricket Pitch at Burley without thinking of this chap sitting on an Adder's nest.



Location tab below : Burley New Forest

 

Random patterns, or may be not so random....

I have been inspired by a pattern I saw on something yesterday

I know, you guessed it straight away

it's an

ADDER

This happens to be the first one we have seen this year

It soon slithered away from it's sunny spot partly hidden in long grass.  Extremely difficult to see initially.  Thankfully we had William the lurcher on a lead at the time, but this is why - on warm sunny days from this time of year and throughout the summer months, it is always better to be cautious.   William tends to back off if he sees them these days, but when he was a puppy he did get bitten by one.  Fortunately we got him to the vet quickly and he was on liquids and anti-venom within the hour of his encounter.  Phew...