Sunday Services at 11:00 a.m.
Children’s RE 1st & 3rd Sunday
Potluck every 1st Sunday
We believe in the freedom of
religious expression.
1308 N. 5th Street • Alpine
uubb.org • 432-837-5486
The UUBB is a lay-led fellowship.
Music To Your Ears
CDs • DVDs • Vinyl
Games • Special Orders
Mon-Fri 10-6
203 E Holland Ave, Alpine
432.837.1055
ringtailrecords@sbcglobal.net
HARPER ’ S
Hardware
Presidio’s favorite hardware store for almost a century
tools • plumbing supplies • home & garden
Albino diamondback rattlesnake. L. A. Dawson
being more common in our
area. In his excellent field
guide: Venomous Snakes of Texas:
A Field Guide (University of
Texas Press), Andy Price stat-
ed, “Hybridization between
the two species does occur in
the Big Bend, and the hybrid
individuals may exhibit one or
more characteristics that are
intermediate between the
two.” Andy was an academi-
cian and employee of Texas
Parks and Wildlife, a good
biologist and a good person.
We will miss him. In a past
discussion I read years ago
questioning why these two
species did not hybridize
more commonly (they are
found in the same places all
through their extensive range,
from here to the Mojave
desert in southern California
and down into central
Mexico), the authors conclud-
ed they did not hybridize
because in spite of seeming to
be “sympatric” – occurring
next to one another – they are
actually “allopatric” – sepa-
rated in time and space – and
reproductively isolated from
one another by a subtle differ-
ence in the preferred “micro-
fiche” between the two.
Thus, while a general look at
their distribution may have
made them look sympatric, a
much closer and more careful
look showed they were
allopatric based on fine-scale
habitat preference such as soil
type and plant type. This is
not at all rare in nature. Small
and seemingly inconsequen-
tial differences in nature can
have grave consequences in
wild populations. While I
cannot discount what the
authors reported in their
study concerning the reason
hybridization between west-
ern diamondback and Mojave
rattlesnakes is so rare or even
nonexistent in the populations
they studied, I have found
ongoing (i.e. across years)
hybridization in the two rat-
tlesnake species here in the
Big Bend.
There is a special location
here in Presidio County
where I like to go look for
snakes. I enjoy the beauty of
the area and the presence of
the snake species sought by so
many visitors who come to
our area to find them.
Whether you are hiking, cut-
ting across a field or in your
own garden, if you see a rat-
tlesnake slide and glide across
the path, step back and enjoy
a special moment. It will, in all
likelihood, go it’s own way.
*For more information, google
Karl Peterson’s article at:
w w w. c h i c a g o h e r p. o r g /
bulletin/46(3).pdf
Monday - Saturday 7:30 am to 6 pm
701 O’Reilly Street • Presidio • 432-229-3256
St. James’ Episcopal Church, Ave. A and N. 6th St., Alpine
Holy Eucharist 1st, 2nd, 3rd Sundays 11 a.m.
Morning Prayer 4th and 5th Sundays 11 a.m.
Godly Play for ages 3-9, every Sunday, Sept thru May, 10:00 am
The Big Bend Episcopal
Mission Welcomes You
Santa Inez Church, Terlingua Ghostown
Holy Eucharist first Saturday 5 p.m. Sept.~ May
and 3rd Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
The Chapel of St. Mary & St. Joseph, Lajitas
Holy Eucharist on 3rd Sunday, 4 pm
The Rev. Kay Jennings
432.386.7464
kayjenningspriest@gmail.com
bigbendepiscopalmission.org
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2016
9