Black rat snake

Saturday
I believe I’m correct in my identification of this snake we saw this afternoon at Rowe Woods. It was lying on a log in a small duckweed-covered pond, and would have been easy to miss. Black rat snakes are the longest snakes in Ohio at four to six feet long, though they can grow up to eight feet. Their bodies are black, with a lighter colour underneath. They hang out in fields, agricultural areas, and forests. They’re non venomous, and actually a farmer’s friend, as they eat mice and rats. They are also arboreal, so they may be seen up in a tree. We had some other sightings too, in the way of butterflies and dragonflies.
In the evening we went out to eat at a nearby Mexican restaurant, and enjoyed a good dinner out on their covered patio, with the sound of bird song from the surrounding bushes, mainly sparrows, hoping for a few crumbs!