Sharing the trail with an eastern rat snake

 I have seen plenty of rat snakes, although I grew in Texas, where most of the folks called them chicken snakes.

The one we saw along the Yellow River looked a bit different. It was a specimen of Pantherophis alleghaniensis, the eastern rat snake, and the authorities say this is about as far west as it gets. They say it isn’t found west of the Chattahoochee River, which runs through Atlanta, a dozen miles west.

This snake had just eaten and was trying to get away. The Wise Woman, who does not like snakes, was also trying to get away. I was trying to get a photograph of this one, which was less than 4 feet long. I don’t ever remember seeing blue in those slate gray scales before.

My grandmother and grandfather had different views about rat snakes. Country people in Texas call them chicken snakes because rat snakes hang out at chicken houses, where grain for the chickens attracts rodents.

My grandfather, who was a great killer of venomous snakes, thought that nonvenomous snakes that preyed on stealers of chickenfeed should be left to their business.

My grandmother, who actually collected the eggs every morning, did not.