These boots brought to you by... rattlesnakes.

 

(apparently these 2-day-old boots already have some fascinating scents)

The first day of searching for burrowing owl and San Joaquin kit fox burrows, I wore cross trainers, having discovered (yet again and too late) that I don't have decent hiking boots. I've never figured out how this happened...

Anyhow, at the end of the first day, ankles raw from 10,000 dried grass seeds (despite wearing gaiters), having felt unfamiliarly insecure re: rattlesnakes, I looked down at co-workers' boots.

Ah.

100% all-leather hiking boots.

k.

So, headed straight for REI wherein I bought the above beauties, completely NOT on sale. Didn't care. I had another day of rattlesnakes and seeds ahead.

Day 2: confidently clomping around in my huge boots, I had NOT ONE seed in my skin, and felt 100x more confident should I encounter a rattlesnake. Didn't see one day two (day 1 we encountered 2), but did get to pet a lovely gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer).

Anyhow, thanks to rattlesnakes and grass seeds, I have made a small contribution to the health of the local economy. And my ankles are very happy.

biobabbler

P.S. The scat bandanna came in handy on several occasions, as we collectively tried to interpret "sign." Well, handy outside of it's more typical use as pollen shield (when worn bank-robber style) and general wipey.