I walked along a well-worn trail with no intent but rest. I wished to be soothed by the trees, but found myself distressed. For in my path rested a snake, known as the copperhead -- a breed that has inspired wonder and no uncertain dread. I gave the snake full attention, and then gave it wide berth, but it must have been far too wide for I walked right off the earth.
the !n(tro)verted yogi 
I’ve had a few encounters with rattlers in the wild. Usually, they don’t want anything to do with us and if their warning rattle doesn’t send us running, they leave. One of the guy that hiked in our group grew up in rural Arizona and used to catch rattlers to sell to a company that milks their venom.
When he was with us on those hikes and we ran into a rattler, he’d try to catch them by getting behind them. The rattler would keep backing up to avoid having him get behind them, rattling warnings all the time. The rattler would also be moving into deeper brush. Eventually our rattler chaser, gave up with the brush got to thick.
We never did see him catch one, but he had a couple he kept as pets in a dry aquarium with a screen across the top.
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