Today's Wildlife

I took my friends on a two mile hike around a pond after heavy thunderstorms last night.  The water level was high but the herons and swans were still too far away to get a good shot.  Then we spotted this visitor beside the trail.  Fortunately it was on a lower level or it would have seemed threatening to those of us not fond of snakes (which was all five of us).  I believe it's a Northern Water Snake, about three feet long.