Black Snake

I was on my way to get twine on the other side of the house when I encountered a 4-5 foot black snake. I did my usual yell like Tarzan when encountering such snakes. Okay maybe it sounded more like a little girl but I it surprised me. Not only was I alarmed, but the snake gave off a silent scream itself and hightailed it under my heater/air conditioner unit. We were cautious of each other.

I was reminded of  the lesson I wrote in my book, Hay Bale Garden Habitat:

"A wise man was teaching his pupil to always be aware of traveling through the wilderness. "Watch where you step, young man; you might fall into a pit or be bitten by a snake. And also watch where you rest; you might sit on an ant hill or be stung by a bee."

"They better watch for me," the young student replied. "I have strong legs to jump over any pit, thick boots to kick any snake, and sense enough not to sit on an ant hill or be stung by a bee."

The wise man then became deeply concerned at what he saw, "Be still, and let me remove the scorpion from off your back." As he removed the scorpion he continued to speak, "Men are always prepared for what they plainly see, but in those things that are not clearly visible is why we should pay extra attention."

Examine this:

The tall grass doesn't look that threatening but take a closer look:

By doing a simple search on the internet, I can find out what kind of snake I encountered. I searched on Google for black snake with white belly in Missouri.

 https://www.google.com/search?q=missouri+black+snake+with+white+belly&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=598&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zaGVVZX6C4nEsAW69r74Cw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgrc=L3KkspRCcy1trM%3A

I then picked out a picture that resembled the snake I saw. I proceeded to visit the page of the snake that looked like the one I encountered.

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/black_rat_snake

I have seen black snakes before. I remember when I heard a kitty cat screaming in my garden. It turned out not to be a cat but a frog with a terrible scream that was being eaten by a rat snake.