Wandering Garter Snake / Thamnophis elegans vagrans

NOT my hand, I can assure you! Taken in a local park when we were snake monitoring on May 30th. Rules (from higher up) were changed this year - including not needing to wear plastic gloves, which surprised me. Pretty much impossible to get even one photo, as a standing rule is to handle the snakes (never by ME!) absolutely only as long as it takes to measure them.

Common but localized populations; least abundant among the three Thamnophis species.
Adults: 45 cm - 107 cm.

Watch where you step : ) I don't know about you, but my knees always go weak when I unexpectedly come across one of these when I'm on a walk! Unfortunately, some snakes are killed by bicycles on the bike paths within the park.