[AZ-Observing] Re: Arizona Observing?

I have hunted, fished, hiked, camped etc in the woods and fields back east
for most of my 58 years and never had any problem with creatures big or
small.  I would say that you can ignore the bugs since they are harmless;
from my reading only one or two species of AZ scorpion is poisonous and they
are rare and won't kill you anyway. Tarantulas are not poisonous.  I suppose
there are people who are allergic to some bug bites but they probably know
that and take precautions.  Most snakes are harmless and none are aggressive
if you leave them alone.  Rattlesnakes are dangerous and they hunt at night.
Since it is possible to inadvertantly disturb one I would not let a child
roam around a desert observing site in the dark.  I have seen 4 rattlesnakes
in Fountain Hills in the 7 years we have lived here and two were in our
yard.  Nonetheless I ignore them when I observe in our backyard since the
chances of disturbing one are slim and they definitely make a fuss when you
approach them.  You did not ask about the only creature I have any concern
about:  Bears.  If observing on the rim in the woods I would definitely not
have any food around and I would have a gun adequate for the job.  I did see
a single wolf in the woods near Pinetop in the late afternoon.  I would not
want to meet a pack of those fellows at night alone either.

Regards

Bill Wood
Fountain Hills, AZ

>
> Hi Group,
> I have a question for any and all to answer.
> What do you do about Snakes, Scorpions, Tarantulas and other
> creepy crawlers
> of the night when viewing either out in the field, or in your
> observatories?
> Let me know.
> Thanks
> John
>


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