It has been getting warmer in my practice area. Hitting the upper 70s on some days. So I've noticed some critters coming back out. There have been an assortment of bugs flying around so it is only a matter of time before some peoples favorite animal to deal with when surveying starts to show up again.
I was setting a corner in a right of way today and pulled up in my truck, hopped out and dropped the tailgate. I started to hear a hissing sound and immediately thought "oh no, why is my truck over heating". I walked to the front of the truck and couldn't hear the hissing. When I walked back to the tailgate, there it was again.
Then I started thinking I might have managed to park right over a snake. I've managed to do that before. I started looking around to try to find it. When I finally figured out what was actually going on....
A hammer had shifted, knocked to top partially off of a can of paint (which I rarely carry in my truck) and had pressed just enough that it sprayed most of the contents of the can into (luckily) the plastic tote I had it sitting in.
Saw a report about two weeks ago warning that due to the early heat the rattlers are out early.
Had that happen while going down the highway 70+ mph in a suburban. Something shifted in back just out of reach, a hiss followed by a fine mist of day-glo pink filling the rear view mirror and not a darn thing I could do about it until I could find a place to pull over. I think about that now every time I throw a can of paint in the truck.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
As Williwaw is well aware, that hissing sound is rarely a rattle snake in Alaska. The bear spray hissing in the suburban, sure gets immediate attention. Den
@williwaw Been there, done that. In theory I've developed a system to eliminate the problem. I keep all of my cans in a milk crate by themselves with the open cans pointing down. When I actually deploy this technique it works great. My hammer still gets painted quite a bit when leave the cans upright and it in the box.
A Pringles chip can makes a good cover for spray cans. Maybe shorten it a bit first.
I got that tee shirt a few times. One reason to stop using paint for anything. There are many more reasons.
@lurker It looks like the black paint got you right in the eyes! 😱
I have a pickup with the floor mat on the passenger side wearing a bright orange coat that it received while bouncing down a backroad.
Walking back to my chariot and with every step I hear "hiss". Finally dawn on me that it was the paint can in my bag. At least I can find my day-glow pink hammer laying on the ground.
I can't count the number of times I reached into the back of my vest to grab the can of paint or hammer only to paint my fingers when I hit the nozzle.