I have a first snake of the year too!

[Zephyr]

So, my friend Johnny and I are at Henry Ford's Rose garden pond netting goldfish. After 3 hours and 9 fish later, 2 little girls and their baby sitter come by and hang out with us for a bit. Somehow, she gets on the topic of snakes and says she saw one. The little girls chime in and say that they saw two. Immediately I'm rushing 1/2 mile to get to where they were. The area has many cliff along the rouge river, but even though they snakes were supposedly in abundance I saw none. However, two girls ahead of us stopped and pointed at something, and I asked what it was.
Snake number one, caught after 1/2 minute of plowing through brush. He looks JUST LIKE A maritime! Seeing that at the time I was somehow convinced it WAS a maritime, I kept him! Pics at the end. Further down the trail and at the falls I'm holding the snake and decide to head back to fishing. About 10 feet away was another snake! Grabbed it, a very fine specimen of T. s. s. with light brown-red coloration. Let'im go. A few more feet back down the trail and another garter! Another male with chocolate coloring and a vague stripe. Took me a moment to catch this one. Let'im go. A few minutes later and we're waiting to leave when a guy and his kids come up and ask me about the snakes. So a few seconds into the convo I hear a rustling behind me and turn to find ANOTHER garter, a skinny dark-brown specimen! So my day was incredibly productive! LEt that one go as well. I didn't have a camera, so I only got pics of Archibald after I got him home. :P

Kinda blurry but shows his colors. :P

[Zephyr]

And now he's trying to mate with one of my females. lol

[adamanteus]

Kyle.... aren't you going to quarantine him for a while?

[Loren]

very nice looking snake.

[Zephyr]

James, to tell the truth, I never quarantine wild snakes. Of course there's the chance of parasites due to fecal contact, but I keep the cage sparkling clean. Also, if you're a sick snake in the wild, you're not going to be out and about: You're going to be hiding or dead.

[Zephyr]

Also, I'm heading back tomorrow to find the damn den! D<

[anji1971]

Hmmm..... Kyle's day sounds kind of like mine. Went on a nature walk, mentioned snakes within earshot of a man and his little girl, and they pointed me in the direction of a snake lover's paradise! Of course I had to pick them all up and cuddle for a moment, but I only kept one, 'cause he looked so much prettier than all the others.
Isn't springtime wonderful??

[anji1971]

By the way, that is an interesting looking garter you've got there, Kyle!

[ssssnakeluvr]

Nice looking garter...not sure it's a maritime...don't think they get clear over to Michigan.....

[Zephyr]

I should be heading back today just for pics. :P
Hoping I'll find the den, and hence, the females. :O