… I want to hear this story of ‘that one time I got chased by a massive iguana.’

But I don’t get or really understand the squeamish reaction to… any of those things you just mentioned.

Like, I know they are common in other people, but none of that ever made any sense to me, seems like irrational phobias.

I grew up in the PNW with a lot of outdoor and wild life activities… basically an exurb bordering the boonies, with a highway into a bigger town.

Any time I went anywhere new, some new biome… I would just learn about the local wildlife first.

I used to just play with newts and garter snakes, caught and released different bugs for fun.

Only snake I’ve ever been ‘squeamish’ around was a goddamned actual Northwestern Rattler, which I happened to get tooooo close to by accident once, out on the eastern side of the Cascades.

By too close, I mean, I am trudging through shrubland on a hike on a friend’s property, and suddenly, from somewhere, yep, can’t see it, but I can definitelt hear a persistent rattle, time to freeze, figure out where it is by ear, and back away very, very slowly, hike is done for the day lol.