FRIDAY
It was in the low 80's again and looked like it would stay that way for the next few days. There is a profusion of fruitfly-sized bugs that swarm the faces of Snake Road visitors. They don't bite, I think they are attracted to sweat. But they sure are annoying.

The bank of the Big Muddy River.

The first snake of the day was this young Eastern Garter seen crossing the road.

Central Newt (lifer).

When viewed from above baby Cottonmouths can look an awful lot like Copperheads.

Cottonmouth courtship in the bluffs.

Striped snake skin.

This pool of water between the road and the bluffs is where a lot of herps have been seen over the years.

Like this Yellowbelly Water Snake.

A sweet-looking Ribbon Snake with a dorsal stripe that was almost red in color.

The first Cottonmouth of the day looked like it had been feeding well. I saw 15 in total on Friday.

A young Cottonmouth basking in direct contact with an adult.

This was the smallest water snake (a Yellowbelly) I'd seen so far on Snake Road.

That night I did some roadhunting and found this Shawnee King.

This young Yellowbelly was out too.

The third DOR Rat Snake I've seen in the last two days. I hope to see a live one before the weekend is over.