This Diamond is NOT a Girl's Best Friend

Nine years of stomping around through weeds at our Wimberley property. Nine years of making noises to let any snake know I was coming so it could scram. Prying loose stacked logs with a stick or shovel just in case some slithering creature was hiding within. Finally it happened, and of course I was completely NOT expecting it. I flipped over a wheelbarrow which had been stored upside down to keep rainwater out, and this medium-size Diamondback Rattler was the only creature more surprised than I was. Luckily it was so surprised that is laid still long enough for me to grab a nearby hoe and give it a little neck massage. My heart rate is back down to normal now, but I imagine anytime I get near a wheelbarrow in the future it will tick up a notch...