Garter Snakes

It is November and the fields around here are still very active with garters. There are also plenty smashed in the road as the blacktop lures them with warm temps. These are the first snakes that are seen around here in the spring, along with racers. They seem to thrive with a short hibernation period.

This close shot shows how the garters scales are "keeled", that is to say that there is a raised ridge running down the middle of the scales like the keel on a boat.

Most of these garters have battle wounds from cats or other animals. I'm not one for numbers, but I think if we were trying to go for garter numbers we could probably round up 50-100 of these in a day.