Garter snakes’ spring emergence largely depends on how early spring comes in their area. Sometimes it’s as early as February and March, as you can see from this Flickr gallery, which I’ve assembled from some of the best garter snake photography so far this year.

I’m still waiting for photos — or any word, actually — from the Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba. Henk von Pickartz paid the dens a visit last weekend, and took lots of photos, but reports that the snakes have yet to come out in great numbers.