Solution - Guess The Critter

I have the solution for yesterday's Guess The Critter game! Take a look in the picture above and you'll see that I have drawn a red shape around the critter that was such a mystery to us all. But what kind of critter is in this picture? The critter in this picture is a small Butler's Garter Snake. Check out that link for some good information about it.

A lot of you guessed this one correctly. I didn't expect that! There were even a few of you who were very accurate. If any of you want to know who they were, look at the comments section of yesterday's post. Now I'm going to list the winners right here in the order of their comments:

Ann | Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor

Sharkbytes | Ginnymo

Jude | Lin | Bemused26

The Retired One | Arasu
Harumi

Congratulations to the winners. You saw the snake maybe easier than I did. I listed your names and links. I only listed one link for those of you who have more than one blog. I tried to make the most appropriate choice. If any more of you slide in before this post goes live I'll add you to the list. Please everyone, go and take a look at these blogs on this list. They are all very good.

Here in this picture is a little better look at this little snake. This little snake is only about 15 in. / 38 cm. That's kind of short for a garter snake. I've seen a few that were about twice that long. These are the most common snakes where I live, and they are mostly harmless.

At the same time, I discovered this snake right beside the hiking trail. I heard it a long time before I ever saw it. The only reason I knew what I was hearing is because I have learned through experience what a snake sounds like when it moves through the weeds. You might say I have learned to speak snake.

So any of you who have decided to go hiking or to a small nature park, if you are inexperienced, just remember that these little snakes might be lurking in the weeds, or even right on the trails. I have almost stepped on a few that way. So stay on the trail and watch where you step. Just so you don't get too afraid, garter snakes are probably less dangerous than an ordinary squirrel.

Here's a better look at a Butler's Garter Snake for you. I took this photo last spring when the grass was just beginning to grow, the green was finally coming back to the forest, and the animals were coming back out for the warmer weather. The nature park I was hiking was just full of these snakes. I heard them slithering through the old leaves every few minutes.

I do have to admit snakes give me the creeps, maybe that's why I'm so fascinated with them. And I know these little garter snakes won't bother me. They're the same as any other animal of the forest, like a squirrel or a chipmunk. Finally, I have to say that it's one of the most exciting things for me when I get to see a garter snake on my everyday adventures.

(One last thing. This post took me a very long time to write. I missed reading some of your blogs because of this. I'll try to catch up with all of you later today. I hope I didn't miss anything good. Vote in the poll!)