Ooh, Looky At The Nature!

I'm back with a turtle! I wanted to show you this turtle in my first picture because I specifically searched for turtles and I found this one. It was the only one I found this time, but at least I got what I was looking for.

The swampy area where I found him is home to lots of turtles. I don't share every turtle I find because we don't want so many. There would be turtles all the way down the blog if I did that. If you read the same books I do that last sentence might be amusing. Probably not, but you'd know what I'm talking about.

Take a close look at the above picture. Do you see the birds? The one on the left seems to be keeping guard for the one on the right. The right one is lying down for some reason. I'm guessing they are mates, but I don't know that. They left when I got a little closer.

I wouldn't have moved in closer to them but they were right on the side of the road. You might think the one was injured or something, but it flew away just as easy as the other. It's not a busy road, but it's also not a very good place for a possible nest.

I threw this picture above in to show you non-photographers how difficult it is to take these pictures. I tried and tried to focus the camera on this bird, but the camera just wouldn't do it before the bird flew away. So I lost another one. It's a common occurrence with nature photography.

The secret is to just take as many pictures as you can and to use the good ones. If you're like me, you also use some of the bad ones. That's why I get to wear a rat costume.

If you want to be a little safer with your photography, then you can take lots of pictures of things like these. They don't run away when you point your camera at them. They do move a bit when there's a gentle breeze though, so nothing is foolproof.

I used the flowers last because I thought it would be good to end with a pleasant photo after that one with the bird. I'm also trying to not be so distracted so I will post a little more often again. I have to keep trying to remind myself to have some fun because I've been getting too wrapped up in business. I'm still trying to organize my time a little better for everything. Hopefully I'll get it right when I talk to you later.

More Turtles, More Logs

I got a little distracted there in my last post, but now I'm back to my normal sane self. Sane? Anyway, I told you a couple of weeks ago when I posted pictures of a turtle on a log that I might one day see more. Well, that day is here.

Not only did I find another turtle, but I found two turtles! You thought you were special getting to see one unique turtle, but now there are more. That pond must be full of them. And only we get to see them. It's in the middle of nowhere.

But wait, there's more!

I saw something shiny on a log not far from the other. It was a little obscured so I couldn't see it very well. So I decided to zoom in with the camera and take a closer look. It was indeed another turtle!

So it's not just two turtles this time, but three of them. I did see another shiny spot, but I didn't have the forethought to get any pictures. Maybe there were even more turtles there that I ignored. I'll never know.

And I'm left with one thought. What will I see next in this pond? The turtles made an excellent everyday adventure. I've now gotten more pictures of animals here in this pond than anywhere else around here. I'll keep going back to this new favorite place. I'll talk to you later.

Just a Turtle On A Log

I visited that pond where I see water birds from time to time. The birds haven't shown up in a while, but I found something just as good. I found a turtle on a log!

Oh, you think, "So what? It's just a turtle." But I don't see many turtles around here. I have seen other turtles in this pond, but these are the first pictures I have of one from here. Who knows? Maybe I'm the only person ever to get a picture of a turtle from this out of the way country pond.

So think about that for a second or two. Now you're not just seeing a picture of a random turtle. You're getting to see something only a few people in the whole world have ever seen. Maybe that makes you special in some way now. You are part of a rare few.

This idea is maybe the main thing I love about nature. It's the thought that I'm the only person to get to see the things I see. That's much better than sitting home watching a ball game or something just like everyone else. No. I want to explore the unknown. And that's what I do every time I'm out there.

Now, this turtle didn't know it was helping to make me unique in any way. It was just sitting there on that log enjoying the sun. I'd guess that it didn't even know I was there. If it did it would have dropped itself back into the water with a plop. That's what they usually do.

And I'll go back to this pond again. Maybe I'll see another turtle. I probably won't feel quite as special about it when I do. But maybe I'll see more than one. Or maybe I'll see something completely unexpected. That last part is why I go. I'll talk to you later.

How A Rat Got Close To Turtles

I wrote my turtle posts in backwards order for you so that you wouldn't feel teased by the promise of closeup turtle pictures to come. I'd normally tell you the story first, then I'd give you the cool closeup shots. Since I gave you the closeups yesterday, today I have the super interesting story of how this rat was able to get the pictures.

It all started last fall. I was walking over to the hidden extra part of the pond when I saw some shiny things on a log in the water. I soon realized that they were actually a log full of turtles! The only problem was that the tall cattails were in the way. When I tried to move closer to the turtles and past the cattails, every last turtle crawled into the water! Plop, plop, ploop!!!

I've been determined ever since then to get another chance at those turtles. It took me six months to do it, but this time I used a different strategy when I saw those same turtles through the cattails.

Instead of trying to move in close as I got past those tall plants, I walked as far away from the pond as I could, right up to the edge of the close forest. Most of the turtles still clumsily plopped into the water, but there were enough that stayed behind for me to get my pictures!

I busily began taking as many pictures as I could of these wonderful creatures, knowing that this was very important so I could share this with anyone who was willing to look. "I found turtles!" That was all I kept thinking while I furiously took all those pictures.

But then I noticed something over at a farther corner of the pond.

There was another log, and it was still full of turtles! As soon as I saw those turtles, I remember seeing shiny spots on this log from a distance at other times before. I was just never this close to it. I was now determined to get even closer, and I had never gone any farther around that pond than I was right now.

I looked over and discovered that not only could I get closer, there was a very small deer path going all the way around the pond! I could walk right over there to this second log! Luck was on my side as I made my way there because the turtles never noticed me.

While I walked the path to get closer, a vole ran in front of me and into a hole in the ground. I wasn't fast enough to get a picture. That was okay because I already had my target. But there was something else about this second log that I haven't mentioned yet...

Turtles weren't the only occupants of the log. Two Canada geese were resting on the log, side by side with the turtles! This was an interesting development. The turtles didn't like me very much, but they liked the geese just fine. And I was able to stay far enough away from this log so I didn't upset them. In fact, it was the geese that finally moved away from me first.

After getting all of the pictures I wanted, and more, I finally walked all the way around the pond, and back to the other side. Other adventures were awaiting this everyday adventurer that claims to be a fake rat. That concludes my great turtle adventure. I just broadened my horizons by finding all of these turtles, and I went a little further in my knowledge that it isn't turtles all the way down. Just for fun, look that term up.

Over at Nature Center Magazine today we have a new contributor! Sharkbytes is a well known favorite of many of you here. Go take a look at her informative and entertaining article on learning about ferns! She did an excellent job. After reading her article, follow the links back to her blogs to tell her how much you enjoyed it!

Turtles Turtles Turtles!

This is exactly what the title says. Turtles Turtles Turtles! These turtles, which are known as painted turtles, are one of the amazing sights I saw on the same day I also saw a huge tree fall in the forest. Today I'll bring you a few of my favorite closeup pictures of these turtles. Tomorrow I'll bring you the story of how I came to find these turtles, along with more pictures.

I wanted to do this in just one day, but there is just so much! I'd like to be able to show you all of my turtle pictures, but there are way too many. I have well over two hundred pictures of these turtles! Most of them are good ones. I didn't get any duds this time.

Let me tell you something. Turtles have always been a favorite type of creature for me. It's something about those shells that makes them special. There's a certain fascination that I've always shared with most little kids about turtles. I used to catch them to keep them as pets when I was a kid. What other reptile is as popular as a turtle?

Painted turtles are known for their greenish shells, the dark and light green stripes on their heads, and those red streaks at the bottom edge of their shells and around their necks. And as you can see on some of these, the underside is yellow. There are variations in painted turtles, but that describes these.

They can live for thirty years in the wild. The size of these turtles is roughly the same size as the hand of an adult human. They of course vary somewhat from child sized hands for younger turtles, to the same size as a very large adult hand for some of the grown turtles. Painted turtles are omnivorous, so they eat plants and animals. There's much more information on painted turtles all over the web.

These pictures are a small sample of the turtles I saw that day. I'll be able to show you much more tomorrow. It really was so much fun finding these creatures. I wasn't sure I'd ever see turtles on my travels. I'm always amazed at finding something new like this, especially since I don't usually go very far from home to do it.

Turtles all the way down!

There's not a whole lot else I can say in this small introduction to painted turtles. Most of my posts are only meant to inspire you to want to look further for knowledge about the chosen subject. It's a way of pointing you in the right direction, or showing you the correct path to travel on your everyday adventure.

Be sure to check out Nature Center Magazine. There are several new contributors since I wrote my introduction for the site.  Today's new article is a new Nature Site Of The Week that looks at a place called Zoo Kawaii. You won't want to miss this look at some of the best of nature on the internet.

The Sad Part Of Nature

I usually like bringing you different thoughts and ideas, and I have a few things that are different today, but there is a very depressing side to what I am about to bring to you. One of the things I very rarely show is the sad part of nature. That part is the natural event that is death.

This is the beautiful flower filled meadow that I like telling you about, but the flowers are all gone now. Off in the distance of this picture I found something unexpected. I actually walked over toward those trees looking for deer droppings. I thought it might be fun to show you a few of those tasty little morsels, because they're part of nature too. But what I really found was totally unexpected.

The rest of this post deals with the death of one of nature's most well known creatures, so I decided to give you a warning before you read the rest of this post. In addition there are a few mildly graphic pictures that some of you may not want to see, so I'm not going to put that part on the front page. Instead you can click the link below if you want to see the rest of this post.

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!)

Sympathy For A Snake

I found something a little unexpected while I was out at my new found boardwalk area looking for more birds. Sunning itself on the boards was this little Garter Snake. Now before you run away screaming, stay just a few seconds so I can explain a few things.

Many of you may be afraid of snakes, but this kind of snake doesn't even have any fangs. As a matter of fact, it is considered harmless to humans and it rarely bites. They almost always try to get away first. You might be in more danger from an angry squirrel than a little garter snake.

Sure they like to eat their food while it's still alive, but the things they eat are mostly smaller than them. As I've shown you in the past they will eat frogs or toads, but a bullfrog will eat a poor little garter snake just as quickly. They also like little creatures that are considered pests, like insects, worms, and leeches.

Not only do frogs think a little garter snake is a tasty treat, so do other animals like certain fish and birds. There are a few pretty good sized birds around this boardwalk, so this little guy is probably in a lot of danger just being there. And he was little, and scared.

As I walked up to this little snake, the poor thing slithered away from its prime spot in the sun, in fear that I might step on it. It gave me plenty of room to walk on by, but I stopped and took a few pictures of it. It was so afraid of the giant standing over it that it couldn't move.

It was the same reaction I got from a little toad awhile back. These little garter snakes are really more or less just lizards without the benefit of legs. No fangs, almost no venom, and no effective way to deliver it to a human if it tried. Just another small animal trying to survive.

When I made a move to step a little closer to get a better angle for my pictures, this little garter snake finally worked up the courage to flee in terror. It squirmed as quickly as it could to the edge of the platform, and it went over the side and into the grass to safety.

I've killed several garter snakes in the past. I should never have forgotten the time my grandma picked one up in her garden to show me that they were not very dangerous. They even have trouble getting away. Instead, I decided to be a cruel killer. We all know they don't belong in houses, but I could have just as easily moved each one to a better place.

The little garter snake in my pictures got to live for another day this time. But what will happen to this little one tomorrow? Will it come out to the sun for more life giving heat only to be mercilessly stomped to death by another human? Will a big bird snatch it up and gobble it down? It's not easy being a snake.

Snake Attack

Warning! This post describes something that may be frightening or disturbing to some. The description and some of the pictures show a snake attack on another live animal. This isn't necessarily as simple as that, but if you think you can handle this then keep reading. If you don't think you can handle this then stop reading now. Maybe you might like some of the stories on the sidebar today.

I was finishing up my hike and thinking there was nothing left to see. The only thing left was to cross a small bridge at the front of the nature preserve. The bridge crosses a very very small creek. You could step over the creek most of the time. As I was taking the first step off of the bridge, I heard a rustling in the leaves just off the bridge to the left.

I stopped and began to look to see what it was. I assumed it must be another squirrel or something, but I discovered that it was really something completely different. I saw two snakes thrashing around in the grass and old fallen leaves. I remembered thinking earlier that I hadn't seen anysnakes in this place yet. There was something a little bit fatter in the middle of them, but I couldn't see what it was.

One of the two snakes quickly slithered under the leaves and was gone. It was hard to see what was going on, but as I focused my eyes I noticed something odd about the snake that was left. It didn't look like the other garter snakes I've seen in the past. This one was more of a brownish color and had less prominent stripes.

Now think about this from the eyes of a beginner to snakes. Someone who doesn't know very much. What would you think if you only knew of the existence of garter snakes and poisonous rattlesnakes, and you weren't at all sure this was a garter snake? And remember this nature preserve is in the middle of a well populated suburb of Detroit.

Not recognizing this as a garter snake, I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was exactly at that point that I realized what that fatter thing was. It was a fat little frog, and the snake was trying to eat it. The frog was still very much alive and struggling for it's life. It was losing. This sight made that terrible feeling in me become worse.

I thought this had to be a garter snake, but there was still the fact that it was different than the others. What if it wasn't? It's skin looked much rougher than the other garter snakes. What did a rattlesnake look like again? I couldn't quite remember, but this was kind of close. Oh crap! I had to do something!

With that thought, I began furiously taking pictures of the sight before me. The snake! The frog! The gruesome sight of the snake in the middle of feeding! I had to document what this snake looked like. If it was really a rattlesnake, I would probably have to report this to the authorities. I'm sure they would want to do something about a poisonous snake in this area.

But what would they do? They would surely want to remove any poisonous rattlesnakes from this area. Would they close down this park? I imagined them searching through the surrounding area, and possibly ruining it as they went. These woods stretch beyond the park. They go on for many miles. As I took my pictures, I felt sicker and sicker.

In the middle of all of this, the position of the frog changed so it was looking right at me. I could imagine it pleading with me to save it. I couldn't and wasn't going to save this frog. It was already too late for it. Besides, this was part of nature no matter what kind of snake this was. I couldn't interfere with that.


Here are some pictures of the snake feeding on the frog. I kept these smaller so they wouldn't be too upsetting for some people. If you want a better look, just click on the pictures.




Another thing that happened while I was taking the pictures was that two women walked by me with a baby carriage. I had the urge to turn to them and point out what I was seeing. I wanted to warn them of the danger. My rational mind told me to ignore them, because this may not be a danger at all. I kept my senses, and decided to stay silent.

I finally decided I had enough pictures. I now had to get home and find out what kind of snake this really was. The whole incident ruined my good day. I saw so many wonderful things before this. It was the day the goose showed me her eggs. My happiness was ruined by the thought of this snake.

When I got home, I checked several times over several days to find out and then make sure what this snake was. I was relieved to find out that it was a common garter snake. Some garter snakes look different than others. I already knew that part, but it was good to read it again.

I was pretty sure all along that it was only a garter snake, but the possibility of something worse just ruined my day. I'm still feeling the effects a week later. This is a good lesson for everyone that nature isn't always nice. It's not always a magical wonderland. When you go out there, stay safe and stay on the trails.

My Double Encounter

I promised yesterday that I would begin to show you some of the wildlife, and a few other things, I found at the new nature preserve I just visited. Since I was assuming that I wouldn't find any life out there, I was really surprised at one of the very first things I saw.

Just before I was about to go around a corner on the trail, I saw something move very slightly in the distance in front of me. When I focused my eyes to the shape in the woods, I was startled to discover that it was a lone deer! Deer were one of the last things I expected to see out here, but I should have known better.

There is something I've been wondering. Why do deer think that a little tree can hide them? I don't know why I ask that, because it does seem to work. As I began to slowly look around, I discovered that, as usual, there was actually a whole herd of them, each one hidden behind their own little trees.

As I continued to watch the deer, I noticed the sound of rustling leaves right behind me. It was the sound of the movement of an animal. I didn't want to look away from the deer, but whatever was moving back there was very close to me. I had to tear my eyes away from the deer, and turn around to look.

What did I find back there behind me? As you can see in the picture, it was this pretty good sized garter snake. The camera actually saw the snake better than I did. I just happened to get lucky and photograph most of the snake.

When I turned around to look, the snake moved again. All I saw was the movement of the leaves over the top of this sneaky little beast. I knew right away that there was a snake there. I had to concentrate to see it at all. I thought it was in a slightly different place than where I found it.

I would swear that there might have been more than one of them. I first thought I saw one about six inches above this one. It was very hard to see in these leaves. The camera picked it up rather well. This snake was less than two feet away from me. Too close for me!

This is only a relatively harmless garter snake, but any snake can bite. This one was also over two feet long, which can be a little scary for anyone who is as close to a snake as I was. Even so, I took a closer shot so anyone could see the pattern a little better.

This section in the last picture is the only part I really saw with my eyes anyway. I never saw the head until I got home and looked at the picture. I'm surprised it didn't slither away. Maybe it thought it was hidden well enough. Or maybe it wanted a white rat for lunch! Just joking, I hope.

I must have been a little nervous around it, because I only got two photos of this little garter snake before I moved away. Later on the trail, I saw the same rustling of the leaves more than three other times. This nature preserve is literally crawling with snakes!

April Snake

I had a very interesting day while I was out hiking yesterday. I heard this strange sound just to the right of the trail. It sounded kind of like when you shake a container of salt. Or like the sound of rustling leaves, but really fast. I don't think I ever heard anything like this out here before.

I looked over to where the sound was coming from, and I saw a snake! I don't think I've ever seen this kind of snake before. Does anyone know what kind it is? I've seen garter snakes before, but this one looks completely different. A garter snake is greenish with stripes down it's back. This one has these weird spots all over it.

This one didn't seem to be trying to get away from me, so I decided to get a closer look. Maybe it's a friendly kind of snake, because it seemed to be wagging it's tail at me. Since it wasn't moving away, I thought it might be injured or something. Maybe I should take it home and help it get better.

I decided to leave it where it was. After all, it is a wild animal. I don't know where I'd keep it anyway. Maybe under my bed. It's nice and dark under there, and snakes seem to like the dark. I guess it doesn't matter that much, because I wasn't taking it home anyway.

Even though I left it there, I'm going to look for it the next time I go out hiking. Who knows? Maybe there's even a few more of them. Next time, if it still acts so friendly, I'm going to pick it up and examine it closer.

I like this. My first animal of April! I can't believe I found such a good one on the very first day of the month. I do have more snake stories and pictures. Just check out my related posts below to see the cool looking snakes I've already found. You'd be a fool not to take a look.

I've made this pretty obvious, but if you still don't get it, ask me about it in the comments section.

Update:
Warning! This story was an April Fool's joke. The snake in my picture can be deadly. The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake is a venomous snake. This rattler is very dangerous to people and their pets. If you think one of these snakes has bitten someone, seek medical help immediately.


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• Pictures Of A Hidden Snake
  
• Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
• Big Garter Snake
  

Pictures Of A Hidden Snake

Yesterday I decided to go on a quick hike along one of the nature trails after work. It's something I do rather frequently. It's one of my main sources of these stories and photos. It's a good way to forget my troubles from a full day of work.

Well, when I got there, I saw a man with two little kids. During the fall there are a lot more people out on these trails, looking at the changing colors. They were standing around looking at different things at the beginning of the trail. I thought nothing of it as I entered the trail and began to get my camera ready.

As soon as I started, they decided there was no better time to do the same. I have absolutely nothing against people and their kids, but I didn't want any company just right then. Especially two yelling, screaming little kids running in front of and behind me, while I was trying to get some pictures of nature scenery.

I thought about stopping to let them pass me, but then they slowed way down. I couldn't win! So I hurried up ahead hoping they would stay back there. I knew a place they wouldn't follow, but I had to get there before they saw me, and became curious. Please, any other time but this one. I wanted to be alone.

As I hurried down the trail, I saw a flash of movement under the fallen leaves at the edge of the trail. Instinctively I stopped to take a closer look, and maybe get a picture of whatever was moving. I figured it was maybe a rodent of some sort. Boy was I wrong!

It was the garter snake you see in these two pictures. I've seen snakes before, but I've never seen this one. I moved closer as stealthily as I could so as not to scare this creature away. It really wasn't having any of it. It did a good job of hiding. But not good enough.

I took the best pictures I could get, but the snake did have a good hiding place. Even so, I liked these two photos of this new garter snake. They show what you'll normally see when you are trying to get close to an animal when it doesn't want you there. I was hoping to get better shots, but these maybe show the reality of a typical animal sighting a little bit better.

As I began to take a few more pictures, I heard the sound of running footsteps and the excited laughter of the two little kids coming up behind me. I figured it was time to leave, for the safety of this snake, and so I could get to my hiding place further down the path, before they saw me. Kids are sometimes way too curious for their own good, or mine.

In the end, I got away safely from the evil little menaces, and I think the snake did too. The whole thing gave me a thought though. I'll have to round up some of the kids in my family, and take them on a quiet tour of these fall trails. They'd have a good time learning about some of these things.

Until tomorrow, The Everyday Adventurer says goodbye, and the snake says ssssssss.


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• Big Garter Snake
• Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
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Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake

Ooh, look what I found! It looks so cute and friendly. I think it's wagging it's tail at me! What's that rattling sound? Should I pet it?

Warning! The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake is a venomous snake. This rattler is very dangerous to people and their pets. If you think one of these snakes has bitten someone, seek medical help immediately.

Its venom is very toxic, but healthy adult humans rarely die from a bite because its teeth are too small to inject enough for great harm. However, a bite should still be considered very dangerous. If you are bitten, remain calm and try to keep still. Don't cut or place ice on the wound, and don't try to suck out the poison. Get medical attention as soon as possible.

Michigan is probably the last stronghold for the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sisturus Catenatus). The word "massasauga" comes from the Chippewa language meaning "great river mouth." This is because of its habitat of swamps, which are often found around the mouths of rivers. It's also called the "Swamp Rattler", "Black Snapper", and "Michigan Rattler." I just found out, even though they are becoming endangered, they have one of their larger populations right in my area. During spring, Massasaugas use open shallow wetlands or shrub swamps. During summer, they move upland to drier areas. Look for them sunning themselves in open fields or grassy meadows.

That's pretty scary. These are some of the type of places I've been going. The good thing is, if you encounter this snake, it will try to get away before it tries to bite. It will only bite if you corner it or try to catch it. They are normally shy and non-aggressive.

They actually are beneficial to the environment. They eat small insects, mammals like mice, reptiles, and amphibians. They are eaten by eagles, herons, and some mammals.

As you may be able to see in this last picture, both snakes are in glass cases, so I was well protected. I took the pictures in the nature center at Kensington Metropark. That's the closest I ever want to be to an Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake!

Big Garter Snake

This is something I've been waiting a long time for. Last year, before I was known as The Everyday Adventurer, I saw Garter Snakes on two separate occasions. They were both on the trail in the meadow area of this park. I almost stepped on one of them. Both snakes were very small. I've been looking to get a picture of a snake ever since.

Back to the present. I was walking on the trail in the back of the park, where it's pretty dark, and I was actually thinking about snakes. This Garter Snake must have been lying right on the trail. As I got close, it shot quickly off the trail, to the left where you see it here. This one was at least two feet long; it was huge.

I quickly stopped and thought whoa, that thing is fast, and big; I gotta get a picture of it! It stopped just on the edge of the trail, so I was able to get several pictures like these. I hope you like them. I do!

My first memory of a Garter Snake was when my grandma found one when she was gardening. She picked it up and showed it to me. I was amazed that she wasn't afraid of it, because I was terrified. She told me they weren't dangerous. I guessed she was right, because it didn't try to bite her, but I still didn't want anything to do with it. She finally tossed it off to the side away from us. My grandma was great.

As my grandma told me, garter snakes are basically harmless to humans. Like any other wild animal, they can bite if they are in danger. They also have a mild venom that can cause irritation. They don't have big fangs like some snakes, so they chew when they bite. Like all other snakes, they are predators, and will eat most anything smaller than them. There aren't any known cases of serious injury from these snakes, but don't mess with them, they are wild.

Enjoy the pictures!