Last time I was in New York City I was pretty aware of being out of my element.  Walking down the street I’d look at the passersby but felt I had zero capacity to judge who was someone to steer clear of, who was harmless, which alleys should be avoided, whether to make eye contact with a panhandler, etc.  I felt like I had to be on my guard all the time, and even so I would be prone to what locals might call stupid mistakes.  Having no sixth sense about your environment can be fairly exhausting!

However, I also realized many city natives would have similar problems in my natural environment - living at the end of a long dirt road with no neighbors in sight (well ok, there are two, each a couple of miles away as the crow flies), but they don’t bother me much.  I have no problem with the lack of streetlights (moon and stars are better anyway), howling of coyotes rather than taxicabs, knowing which rocks might be attractive for a rattler, which foliage is poison oak, how to round up an escaped pony, or deal with a deer carcass.  A city person might feel the need to be constantly alert in my environment, just as I now feel in the city.

Anyway, what brought this on tonight was the presence of a baby rattlesnake in the kitchen.  (Only about 18", no buttons yet.)  Cute little guy, eh?  Just part of living in the country - no big deal.  But worth trying out the photo upload feature :-).