Pond Visitors

Yesterday afternoon when the sun was blazing, I stopped at our small pond to see if anything new had arrived.  I wasn't disappointed.  At first, I saw this garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) sunning itself atop the frogbit.  It wove itself in and out of the pickerel weed, then quickly slid out of the pond, under the fence and into my neighbor's stone wall. 

But then I noticed a snout pushing out from the frogbit.  Another larger garter snake was hidden beneath the surface.

My son and I watch for about 15 minutes as this larger snake emerged from the pond and basked on the rocks.  Perhaps it had just had a meal since it was sluggish, did not seem bothered by our presence, and readjusted its jaws 4 or 5 times as it shifted positions on the edge of the pond.

This green frog who lives in the pond returned from its hiding place in the garden once the snake left.

A wooly bear caterpillar was unfazed by all the activity and kept munching away on frogbit.