I was staring out the side-window while we were driving calmly down from the gate at the top of Mt. Hopkins Road...looking for interesting plants. Suddenly Alice slammed on the breaks (jolting me forward! :-) and dashed out of the truck like a lightning bolt.

Next thing I knew, there she was holding a prized Green Rat Snake in her hands.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I don't think such behavior is recommended for the novice. But these are non-venomous constrictors and Alice knew what she was doing.

While we were stopped admiring the snake, the pair of herpers who had shown all of us the tiger rattlesnake earlier in the day drove up and were able to enjoy the find as well.

Here's a link with notes on the ecology of the Green Rat Snake (Senticolis triaspis).