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How hot? Even a bullsnake had to cool off under a sprinkler near Durango

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Sunday, June 28, 2020 6:49 PM
A 4-foot bullsnake cooled off Wednesday afternoon under Julie Winkelman’s sprinkler east of Durango. The cold-blooded creature bathed in the water for 15 to 20 minutes before visiting a nearby barn.

How hot is it? So hot, apparently, that a 4-foot bullsnake had to cool off this week under a La Plata County woman’s sprinkler.

Julie Winkelman said she went outside to move the sprinkler about 2 p.m. Wednesday and saw the bullsnake bathing under the water. It was about 93 degrees outside her house on County Road 234, east of Durango city limits, she said.

“He was totally parked under that sprinkler when I walked up, and then he kind of raised his head,” she said. “I was like, ‘Holy crap, look at the size of that thing!’”

Winkelman watched the snake for 15 to 20 minutes as it moved closer and then farther away from the water.

“He clearly was enjoying getting cooled off,” she said. “You know it’s hot when a cold-blooded animal has got to cool off.”

The snake eventually slithered off to a nearby barn where it found shade, she said.

The heat wave is expected to continue Friday, with temperatures in the 90s. A slight cooling trend begins this weekend, with a high of 89 on Saturday, 88 on Sunday and 85 on Monday.

Herald Staff

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