Snakes on a Plein Air

John and I went up to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge yesterday, near Lawton, OK. We had planned to stay the night but they were predicting bad weather for today. We went to this place last year, where I did this painting, Hawk Country. This was one of the paintings I put in my Nine Eyes show last year. The refuge was much more lush and green, and the views were great. We hiked back about two miles down a hilly trail that ended at a secluded waterfall. On the way back, John was about ten yards ahead of me and we were hiking up some rocks on a hillside. As I was enjoying the view, all the sudden I heard a snake's rattle! In a nanosecond, I looked down to see a Western Diamondback about an inch or two from my left foot. I hollered and jumped into the air about 8 feet. John didn't know what was going on.  I was jittery the rest of the day, and paid much closer attention to the trail on the way out.  It was extremely windy, and wind is one of the worst nature challenges a plein air painter faces. The usual frustrations include heat, cold, wind, humidity, chaning light conditions, rain, snow, sleet, and insects. Steve Armes says that high wind is the hardest to overcome. I've faced all these and have concluded that it isn't wind that is the toughest landscape challenge in Texas. I'm voting for rattlesnakes.

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