Surprised!

I think it was both of us that were surprised....me and the Western whip snake.
It was an overcast but warm day and I was pottering around in the garden of the holiday house when I saw this beautiful snake in a nettle bed. I managed to wave to husband and son number two to come and see without scaring the snake. It was difficult to tell if it was just one or several snakes at first - we were so cautious not to move too much and scare it off. We managed a few pictures - I passed camera to husband who got some better shots (fewer nettles obscuring the head). After a few magical moments, the snake (about 4 ft long?) disappeared at lightning speed off into the nettles.
Amazing!