“Come see,” our grandson called from the screen door.  “I found a snake outside.” He was so excited that we couldn’t disappoint him.  So four adults rushed to the side yard of the house.
A garter snake slithered through the greenery and among the stones.  “He’s so long,” Alex said.  He didn’t want to pick up the snake, but watched until it disappeared.
He has the same fascination with salamanders and will pick them up.  He and his cousins spend a vast amount of time looking for these under stones in the area around our house.  The turn over stones and …read more

Last night while we were working outside, a garter snake (pictured at left) scared the living daylights out of us by appearing in the space left behind when we lifted a concrete water spout. Of course I thought it was enormous and poisonous and freaked out. (Jesse: “Kristen, chill. It’s like the smallest snake on the planet and it’s not bothering anyone.” Me: “Kill it, kill it, kill it.” Jesse: [rolling eyes])
After taking several photos and frantically comparing them to every snake pic on the internet, I identified it as a harmless, though mildly terrifying, Eastern gartersnake. Great, so if …read more