I have to confess something here; I don't know the difference between a rat snake or a king snake or a cobra. Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration there. But, my actions with snakes is kill first and ask questions later. That didn't happen this time.

Last Wednesday, I was coming back from eating lunch at a local establishment with my sister. We got out of the car, I went through my gate first. I stepped up to the first step leading to my back deck. I have no idea why I stepped all the way up to the first step first. But, as I made my step, I looked down and saw what appeared to be a thick rope. Confused as I was standing on my deck, I suddenly realized it was not a rope at all. It was, at least, a four-foot snake. I did not know what kind it was at that moment. I immediately told my sister to STOP! She stopped dead in her tracks. "What's wrong???" I said 'SNAKE!!!" I think she went into shock, because she was standing there like a zombie. I got an old board laying up on the deck and tried to hit the snake. But, it was too late. He had already gone under the deck. I wasn't about to try and bring him out.

Now, nobody will come over to my home because of this incident. I have described it to some "snake people." They all said it was a "rat snake" and they are very useful since they eat rodents. That may well be the case. However, I am not going to ask the snake if he or she is venomous or non-venomous. If it doesn't immediately "run away," I will make sure it doesn't come back on my property again. In any case, I think this snake is gone. At least, I hope so.