This New York Garter Snake Made Me Do a Double Take

I love living near the woods, but sometimes I would like to put a bell on some of the creatures that share my yard. The birds, bunnies, chipmunks, and squirrels are pretty good at letting me know where they are, but the snakes are another story.

This New York Garter Snake Startled Me in My Driveway

More times than I can count, one of my resident snakes has startled me to the point of gasping and a swear word or two. So far, I have been lucky that most of the snakes around my house are the kind that you want to have around. I have a Black Snake or two and a handful of Garter Snakes.

The weather we have had lately has had most of my resident snakes hunkers down, but today, with he sun shining bright, I was greeted by one of my slithery friends in the most unexpected place. I assume the seat he chose served the purpose of getting warmed by the sun. Let's say I was not prepared for his choice of lounging area.

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When I went to leave for work this morning, I went to the passenger side of my car to put my bags in, and when I turned to close the door, I was eye to eye with the not-so-little guy. I am used to them scaring me from the ground, but the top of the bush was a new location.

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Snakes Can Be Found on Both the Ground and in Trees

Normally, I find them hanging around on my patio or wrapped around my garden hose, but not today. Today, we were busy navigating the top of the boxwood. There were droplets of water to drink from all the rain, and I assume bugs to eat.

I am used to my black snake slithering around in trees, but this little garter or maybe even a ribbon snake was almost floating on air. Once I was safely on the other side of the car, I snapped a few pictures and watched as he or maybe she slid across the top of the bush.

I did a quick search online, and lo and behold, it turns out that Garter and Ribbon snakes like to climb bushes. It keeps them safe from predators, and it is also a great place to hunt insects, their main food source.