Field herping isn't for the impatient, and it's definitely not for someone who's addicted to the cheap and easy thrill.

Not that I'd know anything about that. Ahem.

Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy the camaraderie of a group of folks going out and tromping through the woods in hopes of finding some cool animals. It's just that I want a guaranteed score.

I'd road-cruised in Florida before during Daytona, and the best thing we found was an obscene sign. But this year when a commenter on my blog set me a challenge, I gave it another shot and went out with my friends Jeff from Arizona and Eric from Ohio.

There was one rule: If my friends did not supply a venomous snake or an alligator, there would be hell to pay. Either that or I would channel my inner girl and turn into a very whiny, crabby woman. I suspect they thought that second option was the worst.

So we went out road-cruising on a dirt road. After around 15 minutes, we found our first toad. Ten minutes later we saw just what I wanted to see: Lying flat in the road, illuminated by the headlights, was a nice-sized Cottonmouth.

We found a variety of frogs, a green anole, a really cool owl and a coyote. Our last find was another Cottonmouth that Eric went all commando on to track down in the brush at the side of the road.

The guys were spared my wrath, and I learned field herping might be just my thing after all.

Maybe next year we'll take a spring trip to Snake Road in Illinois...

Pictures under the bump, as usual!