Nothing unusual about this scene: a road jerky garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), one that met its rubber-tire fate like so many others.

What's unusual is where I found it. Here's the 'habitat shot.'

Some Philadelphians might recognize the intersection at the base of the South Street Bridge on 27th (what Lombard curves into). I was riding home from work, as I do nearly every day, and though I was riding fast and thinking about who knows what as I neared the curve onto the bridge, the forever-herping part of my brain pulled the brake lever. I hopped onto the sidewalk and took the photo. I suppose it came off the vegetation running along the railroad tracks at the edge of the river, maybe from the park.

Here's the satellite image.

Railroad tracks are a classic setting for herping, where you'll walk along flipping old ties, but in rural settings, not in urban Philadelphia. Maybe I should give it a shot.