Star stuff.......the photos of your first tomatoes are gorgeous ! so clear i could reach out and touch them!I dont know what kind of snake that is.....but we have a snake that has taken up residence in our yard....a large garter snake....i havent seen it yet.....hubby says he usually sees it in his veggie garden....

I don't know much about snakes, but I have a lot of bookmarks on my PC. I've lived in NC for the last 3 years; so far I've seen a few garter snakes and a worm snake.

Yours might be a rat snake, aka black snake. Coincidentally, they were mentioned on our local radio today -- not poisonous, but they do bite, and their bites often become infected.

Snakes of North Carolina:
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/snakes.html

Their online ID page:
http://www.herpsofnc.org/herps_of_NC/snakes/SnakeID/All.asp

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the rat snake

Beeeeaaaaautiful tomato photos! I just caught myself leaning forward, closer and closer until I looked around and realized my nose was about 6" away from the monitor.

Your snake is a black racer. Very common in your area, and your excellent photo shows the whitish chin patch and smooth scales which identify the snake. He'll keep the rodents away from your garden! Very good to have around.....

Nice maters and black racer. I have one living in the same type of place somewhere around here, it's good luck if you ask me.

Black racers will bite if you give them the chance. Not poisonous, either.

From Wikipedia:

Their diet consists primarily of rodents, frogs, and lizards, and some subspecies are known to climb trees in order to eat eggs and young birds. Juveniles often consume soft-bodied insects, such as crickets and moths.

Seems like while they will eat unwanted pests such as rodents and insects, they will also eat beneficial species such as lizards and frogs which eat a lot of insects.

I'd say it's not a bad thing to have in your garden. And the tomatoes look great; hope you enjoyed eating them as much as everyone enjoyed looking at them.

Cool snake (yeah, even non-poisonous snakes will bite, just like any other threatened wild animal, just leave them be). I think most snakes are beautiful. This guy's scales look like obsidian.

Nice tomatoes too. I'm jealous. My garden won't be ready for tomatoes until spring, and my CSA farmer's tomatoes were killed by the drought.

Wonderful looking tomatoes, I'm jealous! Nice snake too. =)

Thanks everyone for the nice compliments, links & info! :-)

Thank you srjohnt for identifying the snake!

And thanks neohippie! His color and scales were so gorgeous and slick in person! I will definitely leave the little fellow alone ~ unlike my crazy neighbor, who last night was in the parking lot freaking out about a supposed copperhead behind her condo. (It was probably this black racer LOL). She even called the fire department & animal control, but of course they said there was nothing they could unless it was in her house, duh! A lot of snake action yesterday. It's best to keep your distance & let them be (and use a camera with good zoom). :-)

More info about the snake:
(thanks Missing, for the NC snake website)

*BLACK RACER*
Coluber constrictor

DESCRIPTION: Racers are large, relatively slender snakes known for their speed. They have rather large eyes, smooth scales, and in North Carolina are solid black as adults, although some have a whitish chin. As juveniles, racers are gray or brown with dark reddish-brown spots running along their backs.

FEEDING/DIET: Racers do not constrict, but chase their prey down and swallow it alive. They eat a variety of animals, including small rodents, lizards, frogs, insects, and other snakes.

ACTIVITY/BEHAVIOR: They are active only during the daytime and have very good vision. When out and about, they are very alert and often hunt with their heads raised above the ground.

HABITAT/RANGE: Black racers live in a variety of habitats, but are often found in somewhat open areas where they can bask in the sun.

REPRODUCTION: During June or July, the black racer lays 4Â31 eggs, which like its relative, the coachwhip, has small bumps like grains of salt all over its surface.

MISCELLANEOUS: Although they are often confused with the black rat snake, the black racer can be easily distinguished by their smooth scales. Although racers will often aggressively defend themselves and will usually bite repeatedly if picked up, they do not chase people as is often claimed. When pursued, they often climb into bushes or trees to escape their would-be captor. Though they are fast for a snake, a person can easily outrun one on open ground.

+ Racer range map:
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I feel bad cause I once killed a young water snake, thinking it was a moccasin or something venomous like that. Researched it later, and found out it was a harmless midland water snake. :P I have caught and released a few non-venomous snakes, however.

I like your screen name by the way, catman529. There's a guy that walks around our neighborhood that we call 'catman,' because he once tried to steal one of my cats! Literally picked her up and was walking off, but I caught him in time! LOL :-)

"Thank you srjohnt for identifying the snake!"

You're welcome.... :) I wish he was in my garden. Black Rat snakes are very common here in central KY, and we see one a couple times a week, but Black Racers are uncommon. I have seen them here, though.

Here is an update from July 12th. The rescued plant is looking healthy with alot of flowers. It's in a small pot for now. Looks like a cherry tomato, what do you think?
7/12/09
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7/12/09
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...yawn...
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...gag...LOL
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Oops! I posted these pics on the wrong thread. Sorry. This will make more sense:

Here is a link that might be useful: Rescue/volunteer tomato thread

star: Beautiful maters! Like the snake pic too. In your area, I can almost guarantee that's a rat snake not sure of true/sci name).

On another note, cute tomato guarding cat! =)