Wood Pile Garter Snake

Sometimes I have to walk for miles to get a decent photograph; today, I had to walk about 30 or so feet. That would take me to my wood pile, and once there, I pulled back the blue tarp that covers the stack in anticipation of splitting and piling on yet more oak for the winter. Sitting atop the logs was a Garter Snake. It was a bit more than two feet long, and it was very mellow about its sudden exposure. I ran back inside to get my camera, but I feared it was going to have retreated to safely before I could get back to the stack. But when I returned, not only was it still visible, it hadn't moved an inch. Clearly, it owned the place. That was fine with me: snakes are welcome in the wood pile because they keep after mice, and they can get into places that are off-limits to our cats. By the advent of the cold weather, this reptile will have headed somewhere underground and below the frost line. For now, the snake is in a perfect place, particularly when I put back the tarp.