C.Meens, is this home you are in a NEW home, or have you been there for a good while? If you've lived there a good while, I wouldn't worry much, BUT, IF you have just moved to your home, they likely have a spot close to your home where they overwinter. After I lost my past home in a divorce/bankrupcy situation, the guy that bought it (it's close to my present home) said there were Garter snakes living under the siding, they couldn't have been there long, so, he was able to get rid of them, OR they were living there unbeknownst to me when I lived there. BUT, they couldn't have been there for TOO long when I had been there, the double wide wasn't THAT old anyway. I wouldn't worry unless the house is new to you and keep finding more and more Garter snakes in your yard, There IS a house that was FAMOUS for having a swarm of them living in the walls and everywhere, BUT, I am sure THAT house has been deemed unfit for occupation by humans. I'd seen it on TV and REALLY IF somebody sold THAT house to anyone KNOWING the situation, they'll get sued big time. IT was MAYBE in Idaho or Iowa some place in the Midwest I THINK. Sorry, it may be the Vodka talking, but YOUR house is likely fine, I've seen a garter snake here and there, but, NOT this year yet. I've also seen a black racer snake many years ago. I am glad to see the snakes are NOT venomous ones. IF they do hang around you MAY have some rodents around for them to be hanging around your place. Do you have some animal feed that may be attracting mice? I HOPE this helps, I wouldn't worry, maybe they have overwintered in a hole in the ground near your place.

8/8--Now the monsoon rains are really falling. We got rained out of a hike to look for montane rattlesnakes in the mountains and the 4 wheel drive road we were on started to have water running over it. All was not lost though. On the flats we saw a Sonoran Whipsnake (lifelister). That evening the rains continued but we did see a Desert Box Turtle drinking water from the road and an adult Mojave Rattlesnake. Also saw a DOR Checkered Garter Snake. 8/9--Back in the Tucson area, Rachel and I got to see a nice 4 foot Sonoran Gopher Snake. The snake hissed at me when I approached. Nearby we also hiked and saw a dead Western Diamondback near the trail. It wasn't clear what had killed it. Downtown Tucson received 3.37 inches of rain that day and we got rained out of our nighttime road cruise as virtually every road we attempted was closed because of flooding. We turned around at a raging river across theroad on one road. 8/10--Sigh..Time to leave. Too beautiful of country and too much great herps and other animals to see and I wish I could have stayed for a month... My trip total for live snakes: 6 Mojave Rattlesnakes (lifer) 3 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 2 Northern Blacktail Rattlesnakes 1 Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake 1 Sonoran Whipsnake (lifer) 1 Sonoran Gopher Snake (lifer) My DOR total: 4 Mojave Rattlesnakes 2 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 1 Checkered Garter Snake Our family live snake total: 11 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 10 Mojave Rattlesnakes 2 Blacktail Rattlesnakes 1 Arizona Black Rattlesnake 1 Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake 1 Green Rat Snake 1 Sonoran Whipsnake 1 Checkered Garter Snake 1 Sonoran Gopher Snake 1 Great Basin Gopher Snake (my parents saw this en route to AZ) add a Reticulated Gila Monster to that group of snakes and we fared very well as a group even if we did strike out on the three montane rattlesnake species (Ridgenose, Rock and Twin-Spotted Rattlesnakes eluded our entire party).

At 7000 ft in elevation, it would only be a Western Terrestrial (Wandering) Gartersnake (T. elegans). Checkered Gartersnakes are a lowlands snake. Furthermore, Checkered Gartersnakes don't get into Colorado. There is a nice discussion of CO snakes here - http://www.coloradoherping.com/species-guide.html My experience with T. elegans is limited to a dozen or so encounters in NM/AZ, but most of the ones I encountered were fairly docile. Of course, it felt it was being attacked by a dog (i.e. a dog approached it, even with the best of intentions) it would very likely strike defensively, as would any smaller animal, even a kitten. It isn't the snake being aggressive, it is the snake being afraid of the giant potential predators that are approaching it and doing the only thing it can to protect itself. You would probably react the same way.

Thanks everyone for your comments! I took a few more pictures of things that are blooming now:The oxblood lilies are up. I got these last year and I look forward to them multiplying. They don't last long enough, in my opinion. This is Exotic Love Vine (mina lobata). This is for the hummingbirds. I love how the flowers fade from dark red to white as they open. Ragna, here is this year's batch of scarlet pentapete. Thanks again for those seeds! I've been growing it yearly and always have a few volunteers. It's finally starting to bloom heavily and has a ton of buds on it. My salvias have been doing well. This is "Phyllis Fancy". It's temperamental as if we get any warming spell in the winter (which is every winter!), it'll quickly re-sprout and get killed by 2nd or 3rd frost. I usually take cuttings of this as a backup. It is a favorite of bees and hummers.