Spot the alligator or snake

In the shadow of a big tree in Fishing Pond No. 1 at Sheldon Lake State Park, an alligator lurks.

There it is.

It's always fun to pause at the small pond along the walkway to the fishing ponds at Sheldon Lake State Park & Learning Center to look for critters.

You can almost always spot several frogs/toads and at least one snake. Which makes me wonder how many elusive critters I don't see.

One of three snakes in the little pond with the alligator head sculpture and warning sign. This looks like a Broad-banded water snake.

Ribbon snake.

Another Broad-banded water snake. A buddy also spotted a "big snake" that vamoosed before I could get to the other side of the pond to snap a pic with my smartphone.

Snakes like the pots pile

A harmless ribbon snake can still make be jump.

This is why you kick the pile of pots a couple times before pick up a stack for planting chores. The hope is that snakes and critters will leave their outposts. But sometimes they stick around.

The skin of a snake among the pots about ground level.

Snakes in the pond

A long, fat ribbon snake watches me. This one was bigger than the ones I usually see.

After a couple of days of rain cooled the August temperatures, lots of critters are emerging from the crevices.

These two snakes were on opposite sides of the small pond at Sheldon Lake with the alligator statue that warns visitors about gators.

A broad-banded water snake peeks out.

Frogs and snakes at the potting shed

Today's guests at the potting shed at Sheldon Lake State Park.

I took several pics of the ribbon snake with my iPhone, but wasn't able to catch a shot of his red tongue flicking.

A little bullfrog. There were lots of frogs hopping around. I guess they appreciated the rain we had gotten the day before to end three weeks of dryness.

A little snake takes a peak at us

We know there are critters in the prairie restoration team's stacks of pots at Sheldon Lake State Park. Ants, frogs, spiders, snakes.

I usually give the stack a little kick before I grab some empties.

A couple of weeks ago our noise persuaded a big brownish snake to leave the pots stack and head toward the brush. Some thought it was a water moccasin, but we didn't get close enough to confirm.

Today we got the attention of little Ribbonsnake. We didn't seem to scare it. The snake just watched us.

The snake let me get close enough to take this pic with my iPhone.

And then it waited for us to leave.

A snake in the night

A bad night photo of the slim snake.

A Gulf Coast ribbon snake seems to be feasting on my toad eggs and tadpoles.

Last year a ribbon snake played keep-away with me during the day around the pond and compost heap, but I had not seen one this year until I went out after dark to check the pond for critters.

I was trying to get a photo of a trio of toads deciding how to pair off when I noticed a ribbon snake in the water about 2 feet away also was watching.

The snakes, which are about as thick as my little finger, have lightning speed. I was surprised this one was lingering near me. It looked about 18 inches long.

Finally the ribbon snake had enough and broke up the ménage à trois by swimming toward area near the bank where the toads had been sitting. I wanted to use the word "frolicking" rather than "sitting" to describe the toads' antics, but there wasn't much action. I guess the snake and I got bored with this trio about the same time.

I think the ribbon snake was looking for eggs. It made a few passes before rocketing away. -- Lana b

Here is a much better image of a ribbon snake photographed by TexasDarkHorse / Flickr.