Snakes in the Leaves

This was the unofficial start of spring photography after a long March. I have been out shooting so much that this piece has been on the back burner until now. I considered different titles: Snake Orgy, Reptilian Rhapsody, Sex in the Spring, etc. but settled on something a little more tame.  There was so much happening at my feet that I forgot to take an establishing shot and had to come back the next day. The fearless snake was recorded at that time. 

If snakes make you squeamish this is not the minute for you.

The ground is alive!

I was studiously looking for insects on bloodroot flowers when the ground suddenly became alive with snakes sliding through the leaves. I had stumbled garter snakes emerging from a winter nest site. There is something disconcerting about getting eye to eye with your subject when there are a dozen snakes at your feet.  These docile reptiles have been given a worse reputation than big bad wolves.