Grass snake in a flowerpot

Following my close encounter with a slow-worm, Mrs P had an even closer one with a grass snake. It was a juvenile, no more than about 12cm long and it had made its home in a stack of plastic flower pots. She was searching through them when she spotted it wriggling down from pot to pot through the drainage holes in the bottoms of the pots, trying to get away. However, it could not get away through the last pot because it was standing on the ground and I was able to take this photo before we propped the pot on its side in a quiet corner so that it could get away and find a new home. It was a feisty little chap, quite ready to take us both on.

It was not a surprise to find him in the garden as we have had large adult grass snakes here before and we have found eggs in the compost heap on several occasions.