Our New "Pet": Jesse James

I looked out our picture window this afternoon to see this big guy slithering across our front lawn.  I called to the kids to come watch.  He was headed for our front stoop/rock garden with a big black garden hose in it.  We wondered if Mr. Snake was looking for a mate.  It was about 5:30pm, and I thought that was an odd time for him to be roaming about.

Wyatt and I following him to underneath our trailer (from a safe distance since we didn't know if he was poisonous, or not, at the time).  He could reach his head to the top rail of the trailer just by stretching.  Wyatt thought he looked like a cotton mouth. 

We looked him up when we got in the house and decided he is a Black Rat Snake.  The kids named him Jesse James.  He is not poisonous, or dangerous to humans, but very dangerous to rodents.  We hope he eats all the rodents around here and stays away from the Slip 'n' Slide, which was very near the trailer.