Oko Saglogan

Monday, Apr 14 to Sunday, Apr 20, 2014: high 80, low 15

Saturday afternoon was warm and sunny with a slight breeze. Along the springs near the north fence of the sanctuary, the steep bank blocked the breeze. It was quiet. So quiet, in fact, that as i stood still, i thought i could hear the dry grass rustle as though something was moving through or over it. I swung my head to look, and there was silence. But as i stayed stationary, and my ears adjusted, the rustling sound returned; then i heard it from another place. And another. The sounds seemed to be multiplying and coming toward me. Then i saw one: a small multi-colored garter snake slithering through the old grass. Then another, and another quickly darting its serpentine route over, between and under the grass blades. Half a dozen and more. You can see one just above the water in the lower right of the photo above. When this one below suddenly recognized me as a potential danger, it froze in mid-slither. And it stayed like that for ten minutes or so. As still as a blade of grass.