Rattlesnakes may be poisonous, but they don't want to bite anything bigger than they can swallow.

 

This year, higher number of rattlesnakes means higher chance of finding one on your property. Leaping Lizard Rescue is a non profit organization that rescues animals using humane tactics. Hear Barbie Hoffman describe her approach below:

 

 

Listen below to hear Barbie Hoffman describe the largest rattlesnake she's had to deal with.

 

 

 

To visit the Leaping Lizard Rescue website, and see  a list of Do's and Don'ts on handling Rattlesnakes, click here.

The California Department of Fish and Game also has some advice pertaining to rattlesnakes here .

Leaping Lizard Rescue Center will also be part of the Tolay Fall Festival at the new county park above Lakeville Highway, where they will host the Creepy Crawly Critter Room. Find event details here .

 

 

 While events inside the Republican National Convention last week received saturation coverage from the mainstream media, significant developments in the streets outside went largely unreported.

Carl Patrick, a member of the IMPACT! activist group from Petaluma , was among the hundreds of protesters at the Republican National Convention last week. He will be speaking  about his experiences there on Thursday evening,  Sept. 11, at the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County. For more details,  click here.  Patrick says  that local police in the Twin Cities made numerous attemps to infiltrate the protest groups, but their efforts were conspicuous failures.

 

  Cazadero-based activist Starhawk says that in spite of all the furor and ominous aspects of the police response to the protestors, she considers her trip to Minnesota last week a success.

 

To read Starhawk's most recent blog entry about her experience at the Republican National Convention, click here .  

The protests were primarily organized by the RNC Welcoming Committee, which is now coordinating fund-raising for the legal defense for those still facing criminal charges in connection with the protests.

They have us badly outnumbered, but there are ways to divert an invasion of ants without trying to eradicate them.

A close-up look at anArgentine ant.

 

There's a lot more information about common California ants and how to cope with them here.

For additional resources from the Sonoma County Master Gardeners, click here.

The United States has abdicated its standing as a nation that does not condone or practice torture, but Father Louis Vitale is working to reinstate that stance.

 

 

 A more detailed account of Fr. Vitale's arrest at Fort Huachuca can be found here .

Father Vitale will speak in Santa Rosa on Sunday, September 7, at 7:00 pm. at the  Christ Church United Methodist, 1717  Yulupa, Santa Rosa. For further information about the event, call 707-575-8902. A $10 donation is suggested, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds. To learn more about the "No to Torture, Yes to Peace" campaign, click here .The event is co-sponsored by the Sonoma Couty Network of Spiritual Progressives, the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County , and numerous other local groups involved in peace and social justice issues.

 

Pace a Bene is a organization dedicated to "fostering a just and  peaceful world through non-violent education, community-building and action."  Their history is published here .