Definite Ribbon Snake, Ledyard I am not obsessed with Thamnophis sauritus... honest... but on today's trek to examine a new and utterly gorgeous woodland under consideration to become a refuge—please, God, let this happen—the group I was with noticed a vernal pool by the side of the trail and out of it popped a slender, brightly striped snake about two feet long. Our host agreed with my quick assessment that it looked like an Eastern Ribbon Snake, the subject of a couple of earlier posts, but, unlike those uncooperative and not definitively identified serpents, this one didn't seem to be in any hurry to vanish into the underbrush. I followed it under a fairly open and well-lit thicket, and it stopped, rose up a few inches, and, well, posed, showing me what, with a human model, I'd call its "good" side. Clear, whitish chin; no marks on its lips; that telltale small stripe in front of the eye; and very distinct bright yellow lateral stripes confined to scale rows three and four—rattling off that field mark certainly sounds impressive, right? (maybe I've actually learned something...)—no question about its identity. Definitely a Ribbon Snake to add to the Serpent Life List. Now, for that Copperhead...