Possible Ribbon Snake, Babcock

"In the fields of observation, chance favors only the prepared mind," said the great microbiologist Louis Pasteur in a lecture he gave at the University of Lille on December 7, 1854, and that Pasteurian truth played out at a vernal pool I was walking around this afternoon. Well, it sort of played out. I had written earlier about hearing of the occurrence of Eastern Ribbon Snakes and then learning how to distinguish them from Garter Snakes. But though I'd thought a lot about the serpents, I wasn't looking for them in this locale. Rather, I was watching the pool's edges for Marbled Salamander larvae, which were abundant and growing rapidly on a new diet of just hatched Wood Frog tadpoles. Had I been paying attention to the land side of the pool, I'd have noticed this snake sunning itself and, in all likelihood, remaining still long enough for a diagnostic portrait. However, it heard me before I saw it, and zipped into the water. I did have time to notice how slender it was and how, if I looked hard enough, it had more-or-less clear lips. Here's my blue ribbon, I think: an Eastern Ribbon Snake. It's my favor for being prepared.  I'll be on the lookout soon enough for a definitive look... and photograph.