I was doing some cleanup around the woodpile and getting rid of some worn holey tarps when I found a few garter snakes hiding inside them. Most of the large ones just slithered away but this one small guy decided to challenge me. I missed the shots of him snapping at me with open jaw but this candid glamor shot was share worthy.
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis is the Massachusetts state reptile. He was quite bold and seemed fearless unlike most garters. The are part of nature’s balance and eat a diverse array of small creatures…worms, insects, small birds even, as well as other snakes.
Shot with my iPhone 11 Pro as I don’t carry much else while doing yard work.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
That blue tarp makes a great backdrop. Its rectangular pattern complements the one on the snake.
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Just happenstance but a good case of it.
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Handsomely patterned, it really stands out on the blue tarp.
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Not my preferred scenario but it did turn out well and the iPhone did well as well. 🙂
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That blue tarp really showcases the beautiful color and patterns of the snake. Nice capture!!
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yes I am scared of snakes some of the patterns are interesting.
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Occasionally I get a special reward for my yardwork. 🙂 I should have expected snakes to be inside the tarps but didn’t so only had the phone with me. Again not thinking, I should have mad a film of the little guy snapping at me. Oh well, nice memory.
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ok here’s my step out of comfort for the day. LOL The scary little garter was probably loving his new blue house? Where do you live. The thought terrifies me.
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Fortunately the snake is only a picture, Mireya. 🙂
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A classsic, sssinuousss,ssserpentine pose, and it’s trying to tassste your ssscent.
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I see that this is the eastern garter snake, which is quite different from the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) that I frequently see in Minnesota. Thanks again for enlarging my critter-event horizon.
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Yep. Caught me in an error again. Not common and for me not uncommon.
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I don’t think there’s any error-catching here; they’re both garter snakes, and you know your local ones much better than I do. And it’s a very handsome one!
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Well, someone on iNaturalist thinks this a Checkered Garter Snake-Thamnophis marcianus and I tend to agree.
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I’ve never seen a snake on a blue background. I took a minute to image you holding it up against the sky for one of those famous Schwartzman compositions, and then I decided the tarp would be the better part of wisdom.
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No snake wrassler am I. The sky would be more natural…if snakes could fly…actually there are flying snakes and not like these.
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Before I clicked the link, two things came to mind: Snakes on a Plane, and the hawk I saw flying across the Kansas landscape with a really big snake dangling from its talons.
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Very nice Steve! Nice image and like the blue background! The iPhone 11 Pro usually does a nice job with images! Especially opening the files in Adobe Camera Raw.
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Thanks, Reed. That’s exactly what I did with this.
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Oops. Actually Lightroom but basically the same.
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That is indeed a glamour shot~beautiful! We have particularly large and aggressive garters here.
In fact, they are called the Chicago race of garters, and I think of them as gangsters. 🙂
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Gangster garters!
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Exactly! 😀
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LOL, I’m imagining the snake hissing at you and you replying, ‘Yeah, yeah – just hang on a minute while I take your photo!’
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Yeah, he wasn’t at all patient with me although unafraid as well.
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Probably left him grumbling to himself for the rest of the day…hehe!
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Wonderful! I just can’t get around not liking spiders but I do like snakes, and most all reptiles. Look at that skin! And what fun to catch it glaring at you. 🙂
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The skin was beautiful and I am guessing freshly molted. Most of the garters I see are more mature, larger, and not nearly as attractive although they are good lookers. This one was a beauty.
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