This photo is a bit of a change of pace. This past weekend I was at the cottage (Garden Island, just outside of Kingston, Ontario) and was lucky enough to get pretty close to a Northern Water Snake that slithered over our swimming area. It later approached my girlfriend with a fish in his mouth as well…maybe it wanted to share? I dunno.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a photo of the week without geology so the rock that the snake is an Ordovician limestone that is part of the Black River Group. It is fairly fossiliferous and contains lots of large cephalopods and rugose corals.
A mature Northern Water Snake. They darken as they age. (Photo: Matt Herod)
This particular Nerodia sipedon is about 1m in length so a pretty large example. (Photo: Matt Herod)
We also had a massive Bullfrog move into the garden pond. Hope the snake doesn’t get him! (Photo: Matt Herod)