This shy snake was reluctant to leave the shadows. When it saw me futzing with my camera it would slither off in haste, but a few moments later it would be back in some mostly-concealed position. Due to the craptacular nature of the photo, I'm not completely certain which gartersnake species this is, but T. ordinoides is my best guess.

On a chilly late Fall afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to find this handsome gartersnake active in the scrub just above the beach. It's a common enough species where it lives, but as I'm not where it lives very often I felt lucky to see one when the thermometer read merely 55 degrees Fahrenheit.