Marcia, Please help me find out what kind of snake I came across today. While I was at the local dog park (near Orlando) I came across a yellow with black stripes snake. It looked to be between 3.5-4 feet long and did not appear at first glance (that was all I gave it out of fear) to be shiny. I was about 3 feet from it and didn't know it until my dog almost stepped on it. She obviously didn't see it either. The snake seemed a pit peeved about the whole thing but it decided not to attack and to slowly slither towards ME to get away from my dog. Needless to say, I took off in a different direction real quick and hollered for my dog to follow. I am not like you or others on this site. I am not a fan of snakes and am extremely afraid of them. Although, I don't mind the black racers that seem to have taken up permanent residence in MY back yard and they love to procreate often (or so it seems). I have seen a lot less field rats since the racers moved in and that makes me very happy. Anyway, can you help me figure out what this snake was? I have spent hours and hours online tonight trying to find it and just can't seem to find anything that looks like it. I am guessing that it is not dangerous to me or my dogs??? I am scared to take my dogs back through those woods that they so dearly love. As soon as I told them, "No more woods until the snakes are gone again," they "told" me to find it if it was dangerous or not and if it isn't that they want to go back again. So that is mostly why I am asking you for your help. We all love the walks but I am afraid of the snakes. Please help me feel safer about going back. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi Gina, no apologies needed:-) people her will chime in on the IDs, it's not a pain at all, and the list is a little less active because it's JUNE, yay, we are all out in the dirt:-) if you don't get a response soon, try this: repost your photos with numbers and just a short request for ID's. That makes it easier for folks to answer. usually you'll get several responses, with each person just IDing a couple plants, rather than one person doing it all. The numbers help make it easier for several folks to each focus on what they know best.

Euthamia gymnospermoides is shown native in MI by USDA and several other web sources but none of them detail to county level. As you stated, Euthamia graminifolia is recorded in Ottawa county and almost every other county as per https://www.michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=328. michiganflora.net doesn't have any records for Euthamia gymnospermoides. Euthamia graminifolia and E. caroliniana are the only 2 of the genus shown in Ottawa county at michiganflora.net. Of course this is not to say that it is impossible for Euthamia gymnospermoides to exist here, it just means there have been no official sighting recorded. I guess having a flower head would have made all of this easier. Thank you for you dedication to accuracy and for pursuing this matter further, it is greatly appreciated.

t is sometimes impossible to find exact fabrics since designers often have prints made for certain projects. If you google fabric with daisy print on blue background there are many.;The fact that it is from awhile ago is also an issue. As long as it is just the colors and the daisies you might find something that you love .