I almost stepped on this snake that was next to the porch. I somehow saw it out of the corner of my eye and stopped myself in time. The next thing I did was look at the tail to see if it was a rattlesnake. No rattles. That’s good, right? I thought it was a rat snake, but after taking this photo and looking it up later, I think it’s a cottonmouth. Oh, dear. I don’t know where it went but anytime I’m out in the yard I’m looking around for it. (When I took the time to photograph this snake when it was just a few inches from me, I thought it was a rat snake.)