It's a garter snake. Very common and harmless.

Yep. It's an Eastern Garter Snake. They're harmless. Nice picture!

Gonna put a little sign in my garden that says garter snakes welcome. I had plenty last year and it cut way down on voles/moles. This year I have not seen any garters and the dirt trails through the lawn are every where.

I have heard that garters like to eat slugs. Don't know if its true. I would like to stock my yard with garters to keep the slugs, mice and voles under check! I have tons of hostas that get mangeled every summer by slugs. Snakes welcome for sure!
JD

Two years ago I had a garter snake that had babies. I had little garter snakes everywhere I looked. Last year I only saw the mother again and haven't seen any snakes yet this year.

Consider the garter snake your friend. It gets rid of lots of pests in the garden, except one year I saw it eat one of my toads another garden friend

Last year I had gater snakes everywhere. This year I have not seen a single one. I'd run to the store and get garter snake attractant but it would most likely back fire and bring in deer to eat everything. Seriously, I would like to know why they are staying away this year as I still see plenty of sign their food is not in short supply here. I might even have gained a gopher from the looks of things.