Holy crap a photo actually taken this year, and not all that long ago?! Yes it's true!

Common garter snake, just chillin' out in the yard. He/she was actually very, very tame and had brilliant copper coloration along their belly. I have two more photos of this cutie, might post them over the next couple days.

To be honest, I was really tempted to keep this beautiful guy/gal. Largest garter snake I've seen in the wild to date, and so amazingly calm. I kept them for a few days while severe storms were heading through the area because I've seen too many reptiles and amphibians killed by hail during storms and I didn't want that to happen to this sweetheart. I feel weird about keeping wild-caught specimens though, and would rather have this babe out in the yard keeping my garden free of pests. <3