Bad year for snakes

I lived on a ranch on the north end of White Sands NM. 35 miles to the nearest town.
My Saluki would kill rattlers and coyotes. He would hunt them alone and bring me parts an place them on the front porch of the ranch house.

I don't know what you know about snakes but when they shed their skin, they give off a cucumber odor.

There was a valley southwest of the house that when the wind blew the wrong way you would smell them.
We never ran cattle in that area during the summer.
The ranch started at the 20 mile marker and went to the 44 mile marker and was from 3 to 8 miles wide the whole way across.
I loved that place but it had some big snakes.