Garden Pests and Diseases: Help me ID this Snake (Please), 1 by eje

eje wrote:
One summer I was quite excited to see a California Red Sided Garter snake in my back yard. Unfortunately, I only saw it once.

I think a snake that size would scare me a bit, too. I don't particularly like snakes either; but, I definitely prefer them to rats and gophers.

This year my newest wildlife friends are some sort of salamanders who have taken up residence under my clay pots. I wish they would put a bigger dent in my earwig population...