Slithering leaf mates: snake and skink

There is still no sunshine but on Saturday the temperature was approaching 60 degrees so it was a good day to spend a couple of hours raking leaves and pulling weeds before it started raining again.

However when you start raking, you disturb creatures under the leaf litter.

First I found this tail sticking out when I swept away an inch of crunchy leaves.

Exposed tail.

The tail belonged to a Rough Earth Snake that didn't want me to look at its face. 

A few minutes later I uncovered a skink that wasn't as pliant as the snake. It wanted to slither away from me as quickly as possible.

Let's admire those stripes on this Little Brown Skink.

Cute legs.

These little lizards are garden friends. According to the Galveston County Master Gardeners:

Generally skinks are no longer than 8 inches. Most skink species have short legs that are well-formed and a few have no legs at all. They often look like a snake crawling about. Skinks are very beneficial to the garden because their prey includes grasshoppers, snails, slugs, cockroaches and even small mice. Most skinks are active during the day and prefer hanging out on the ground rather than climbing trees. Some skinks like to burrow.

Even though you may not be well-acquainted with, or even aware of, skinks; tribes of these sleek-bodied mini-hunters are hopefully stalking pests in your garden as you read this. They help to maintain a natural balance and protect your plants.

I tossed the snake and the skink under the deck where I also throw a lot of leaves when I'm feeling lazy. There should be plenty of good hiding places under there.