I have a snake living in my greenhouse. The word “snake” is a really loaded one. It conjures up all kind of scary things to the unconscious mind, but the snake I have in my greenhouse is not a threat. It is a Red-sided Garter Snake. Here in the Central Interior of BC we have no poisonous snakes, just these garter snakes that don’t get very big; this one was 15” (38cm) long, and are harmless.
I first saw it the other day as I was making my way through the tomato plants. Snakes are alway a shock when you don’t expect them, so for the first nanosecond I felt panic, but quickly realized it was harmless and watched as it quickly slithered away. Then a couple of days later I saw it again. I have now seen it three times. On several occasions I have gone out the greenhouse with my camera to get a picture, but of course, the snake was nowhere to be seen. The photo above is of a garter snake that I saw back in 2012 on an old logging road.
I am happy to have the snake in the greenhouse. They eat slugs and insects, so it is doing me a favor and I hope it sticks around.
View my paintings: www.davidmarchant.ca
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