I started to walk out the back door, saw this snake out of the corner of my eye and decided that inside was the place to be. Fortunately, it was a rat snake, not a rattlesnake, and it did not harm me as I passed within a few inches of it.

I came around the back from the opposite direction to take this photo. Hubby and I let the snake go its way, off the back porch.

Rat snake on the back porch wall