Sometimes when I’m out walking, I think that if I were a hunter and my camera were my hunting tool, there would be days when my family would be starving and there would be days when they would feast.
Yesterday, I would have brought home a reptile feast. The little snake shown above and below was an easy catch. I’m guessing it’s young because of its size, and because it so innocently looked right into the camera. I could tell it didn’t quite have its instincts in full working order.
I think though, that if I did bring this little thing home, it would have become a pet, it was so cute. Although it was about two feet long, it was thin, and its head not much bigger than the tip of my pinkie. Please click on the image above to see a close-up of the sweetest snake face ever!
The summer was so dry that the water level in the pond is low. Many more rocks are visible this year than any other year I’ve been observing it. So, when I saw the sight below, I thought it was a new rock surface. But then I spotted the turtle head to the left. The murky water in the lower right is from where I imagine the turtle startled as I came by. The shell was perhaps a foot or more in length.
Then look what caught my eye – a big snake! At first I thought it was dead. It was half in, half out of the water and didn’t move at all, no matter how close I got. In retrospect, I suppose I shouldn’t have pushed my luck! I don’t know enough yet about the wild – for all I know this snake might have given me a poisonous bite.
If you look at the neck of this snake, it looks kind of thin when compared to the fat body that follows…
Could a third reptile, a frog perhaps, be hidden in this image also?
Finally, the snake slithered off, underwater.
Below, you can’t really see it in the photo, but the snake actually burrows into the floor of the pond. Seeing that squelches any impulse I might sometimes have to wade into the water.
So, if yesterday’s photo catch were actually the catch of a hunt, last night’s dinner menu might have been: turtle soup, garter snake salad, big snake steak, and for dessert…
…berries!
SilverLining 
The most charming thing I've ever read about snakes!
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Thanks for your comment! I had a hard time walking away from that little snake – so sweet! I might add a P.S. to the post. I've since done some research and the water snake might be a \”water garter snake.\” Still, I don't think I'd wade in!
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The first snake is definitely a garter snake of some sort – probably Eastern, although there are a number of garter snake species that all look similar (genus Thamnophis). The second is some kind of water snake (genus Nerodia), probably a Nothern Water Snake where you are. Never heard of a \”water garter snake,\” but a lot of these critters have multiple common names.Both are harmless. A quick way to identify a venemous snake is by its broad, triangular head and slit-shaped (not round) pupils. Compare some photos and you'll see the difference.Sorry to go into \”lecture mode\” like this – I guess you activated my inner snake nerd!
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Hi rebecca, I'm so glad someone with knowledge about snakes has commented! I am \”flying blind\” with my thoughts about the biology of this pond. I appreciate any and all knowledgeable comments. Please come by again and \”lecture\” all you like! Mary
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