ID please An univited guest - anybody know what it is please?

I'm not 100% sure what you're showing me here Sue, but do I see the back of a snake? Looks like a garter snake. They were thought to be in Canada & US, but new species are popping up in Europe as well. You might call it a water snake. Obviously, I can't see the whole snake, but the markings look like that of a water snake (garter snake, or garden snake, depends where you are from). They are shy, harmless snakes unless they feel threatened or trapped. They prefer to slither away and avoid conflict. They CAN deliver a nasty bite. Don't put your hand in there and watch your pets.

My advice to you, leave him be and he'll leave you be. He's probably been around a while and you just noticed him now. LOL now I see his head. They eat slugs, small rodents, worms, frogs, whatever fits in his mouth.

You've got good eyesight Bathgate; I can't see what you do!

Look lower center in that hole, you'll see faint horizontal gold and black bands and just upper right of that I think I see a head. Then go to Google and type in 'Garter Snake' or 'Garden Snake', Do we have a match? That's my guess. It's a snake after all and stealth is their game.

Oh my, I still can't see it but thankyou Bathgate. Good job I'm not a predator! I'd starve.

OK, try magnifying your screen. Click on those 3 little horizontal lines in the upper right of your screen. Go down to 'zoom', then click the + to zoom to 200%. Look at the photo with 200% magnification. Do you see it now? You can always increase or decrease the magnification at will.

I still can't see it but learned something new today. Thanks Bathgate.

At 240 all I can see is a few dead leaves.

Well I could be wrong as I said in my first comment. Now I'm not sure what she's showing us. Sorry for the confusion 🙃

I'm not sure either, but I didn't know you could magnify the picture like that, so thank you Bathgate! Been on a computer for years and still didn't know that - Wow!

Lol it's extremely helpful for reading fine print or examining small details and for realizing a snake you thought you saw really isn't there

I think I'm seeing something might not be what Stera means, I played with the photo, can't add pic here, so will post in my name..

Could she mean those little white flowers? What are those?

LOL, I'm following with interest...

Yes she did mean those little white flowers. I coudn't see a snke anywhere even with a big dose ofimagination. I'll go and take another photo and start again. All I did was to select a part of the original photo and it looked focussed on my screen before I uploaded it..

We don't have garter snakes here except in pet shops etc. but they are harmless in any case.

We don't have too many snakes where I live. They are more common upstate. I do have Italian Wall lizards, but those escaped from a pet shop and took refuge under my patio. They are fun to have around. I'm amazed that they survive our brutally cold winters. The pet shop they escaped from is now defunct.

I have the Madeiran Wall Lizard (Lacerta dugesii). My cats love to sit in front of a stone wall, hoping to catch one. It is all fun and games until they try to bring it into the house. They also get under the tiles on the roof and move about, which is annoying.

That's why I hardly see any ants, slugs, termites or aphids, yet plenty of lizards.

Hi Sue, do you mean the white flowers ?, it looks as if it could be Ageratina altissima to me, or common name, white snakeroot, but I wouldn't bet my life on it, Derek.

I have plenty of White Snakeroot, but it doesn't look exactly the same. Snakeroot has fuzzy looking flowers, these look like little bells unless it's a new variety...somebody always mentions that Abraham Lincoln's mom died from milk sickness because the cows fed on White Snakeroot and it poisoned the milk she drank.

Oh! it is about snakes then! maybe a wild snake chase?

Good that no-one's had a hissy fit so far though!

Bathgate you are such a wizz on the computer. I wish i could save your instructions.

I have added a better photo. Does anyone recognise these flowers? I think they must be wild ones. sorry the poor photo seemed to confuse everyone! The leaves are the darker ones at the back - the others are geranium leaves.

Snakeroot? Snakes? .......lol! Sorry, I don't know what it is, but the thread was amusing. :)

Origanum? Oregano or marjoram?

Would tend to agree with Darren, wild marjoram.

Whatever it is the flowers are pretty, is it one that would be classed as a thug though...
Yes it is very amusing Karen, I keep having a look at what I thought Stera was asking about, its is a bit like cloud watching we all see different shapes, lol...

Merlin, It's like riding a bicycle or swimming; once you learn it, you never forget. Because it's such a useful function, you will use it often.

Stera, if you have an iphone download a free app called Plantsnap. It identifies plants, not 100% but I've found it pretty accurate just the same. Might be worth trying it anyway.

Thanks Paul, for the computer lesson! I didn't know that either and, unless it coincided with Stera adding a clearer picture, the zoom clarified it a lot then when I went back to the original size the picture was still clear.

I tried the app by focusing on my computer screen. The result was Nepeta. Catmint. Right or wrong?

I'd go for marjoram or oregano personally. crush the leaves [assuming they are the small leaf and not the ones that look like a geranium] are they aromatic?

You were all very kind and forbearing with me and I appreciate it. I've learned a lot from you too. This discussion could have gone completely off the rails. Glad it ended on a high note.

Sorry to have been slow responding - have been thrown out of the site again but back now. Thank you very much for all your suggestions. The plant does turn out to be wild marjoram. There is none round here so it must have seeded from my golden one. As soon as I thought to bruise a leaf there was no doubt. Sorry it turned out to be something less dramatic than reptiles!

That doesn't matter Stera it was very entertaining, did you get locked out completely, what a kerfuffle, we miss it when it goes wrong don't we ...

Sue, if you want drama, check out my latest question. I swear I don't make this stuff up. lol!

Well - been thrown out again for ages but son fixed it for me this evening so I'm playing catchup tonight!
So thank you to everyone on was so helpful.No to have a look at Bath's question...

Check out my latest blog - more pictures