At the botanical gardens along the many pathways, I find eye candy just about every nook and cranny; different plant displays in different seasons!! And it's a good place to see water birds and migrating birds. This time of year the Purple Martins have returned to their 'condos' and busy, nesting. This day was such a day for visions of Spring. With one exception...kinda sorta.
Two lakes are part of the gardens property, with bird watcher's elevated decks here and there...and the trail extends from the lakes over a boardwalk to open land, traversing the back wooded area to the creek that flows into the bay...
On this day, near the end of my walk, as I headed to the exit, on the trail I stopped short. I froze and held my breath? A snake!!! Is it alive? I couldn't tell for sure. And such an unusual marking!! Why, I've never seen this kind before! Is it real? Is today April Fool's Day? I took a picture and was ready to quickly leave it alone. Still in awe of the color pattern, I zoomed in on the head. It was watching me!! I stepped away and as I turned back for a last glance at the slimy thing...it was creeping away into the grass!! Once home, I got on Google...it's a rare snake. A garter snake. In fact it's a checkered garter snake!! It's a new one for me. Pretty in a way, but still it spoiled my outing!!! I hate snakes. Live ones especially.
I will continue to post more photos, the rose garden, some butterflies and a bit more wildlife in the coming posts. In the meantime, check out this site for these checkered garter snakes in Texas.