Tires & Goatheads

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by Alex Caldwell

Here's what they look like. They are sort of tetrahedon shaped, so no matter how they land, there is a spike sticking straight upwards to go through your shoe or your tire. The one on the right still looks kind of green, but when fully mature they are very hard and woody. Maybe they could be used in Iraq to combat the insurgency?

In Medievil times they made a metal device called a "Caltrop", had one point always up, to stop horses and foot soldiers, now the term is used for these type of stickers in general.

Strange what trivia resides in the dark corners of a persons brain.

Mike

[az_gila]

This can also do in tires....

"Jumping" Cholla cactus - sharp, and with nasty barbs on the ends. The spines are 1 to 2 inches long, and the plants can shed small "chunks"... these are attracted to folks wandering by, and always seem to get you... hence the term "jumping"....



Though I missed the best photo when my camera wasn't handy....

One day, on opening our garage door, my Lycoming O-320-E2G was sitting up front, wrapped in plastic and guarded by two curled up rattlesnakes on top of the engine....

Would have made a great photo.....

Gil in Tucson ... and guess where our airpark got it's name from...

And for Alex C. from his Mojave days...
Duster A3
Mini-Nimbus ACE

[NYTOM]

Well Terry , I "Was" hoping to retire to New Mexico some day.
Can you teach those things to fetch newspapers?
Tom

[TerryPancake]

Originally Posted by cytoxin

looks like something i could eat fried and wrapped with green chillis.

Anything wrapped in a green Chile is good.

Tom, yes they will fetch the newspaper and the paper boy and any small pets in the area. They get real hungry. I used to live in New Mex. My family is still there, so I am there often. It's a real great place. "IFR" not recommended. The WX is too nice.

Gill, my wife and I were in La Cholla this spring looking at the house either next to Allen Day or maybe a couple houses down when I shot a picture of a 4 foot long rattle snake. That 4 foot slinky guy is lives in your hood.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by TerryPancake

Anything wrapped in a green Chile is good.

Gill, my wife and I were in La Cholla this spring looking at the house either next to Allen Day or maybe a couple houses down when I shot a picture of a 4 foot long rattle snake. That 4 foot slinky guy is lives in your hood.

Terry... I hope it wasn't the one next to Alan Day's... that's our house, and it's not for sale!!!

Yes... a few of those rattlesnakes in the area... we all walk looking downwards....

A few weeks ago I saw one on the runway out of the corner of my eye while I was taking off..... I guess I could roll over it with no real problems....

The airport manager does a good job of snake removal for the residents, and one owner likes them since they eat the pack rats.....

A local king snake is desirable since they are not poisonous and also eat rodents..... they worry some visitors though.....



I prefer our approach to rat control....

http://home.earthlink.net/~gilalex/B...nch-jun-03.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~gilalex/B...-up-jun-03.jpg

Just keep your small pets inside...

gil in Tucson - with the snakes....

[NYTOM]

This thread is getting downright scary. I don't know if I'll ever come down that way now. Hey we got some really mean ladybugs up here. You should see them. Some of them get get to be a quarter inch long.
Tom

[the_other_dougreeves]

Originally Posted by az_gila

I prefer our approach to rat control....

http://home.earthlink.net/~gilalex/B...nch-jun-03.jpg
http://home.earthlink.net/~gilalex/B...-up-jun-03.jpg

Just keep your small pets inside...

Aww, wat a cute widdle kitty ... YEOW!

This reminds me of the feral cats at PGE Park (baseball / futball stadium) in Portland. The city has discovered that a little cat food goes a long way towards keeping the rats down.