Fantastic Natural History, part 1
"You are not going back out to discover if Louise, magnificent though she be, likes cocoa. Save your experimental zeal for the morning." (Kate Murry to her young son Charles, quoted from memory.)
So, I've been thinking of some beloved books, and real-world equivalents of their plants and animals. We'll start with Madeleine L'Engle.
What sort of snake is Louise the Larger?
A "black snake" in Connecticut, October 2019
Well, what do we know about Louise?
She lives in a stone wall near an orchard in Northwestern Connecticut. She is fairly tame and friendly toward the young boys who name her. She is big, and black. She's got a pretty strong grip, winding herself round the children's arms and shoulders. Of course, there's a lot more to Louise than that, as fans of A Wind in the Door will know. But those are the basic facts. She's a black snake, and that's what she gets called. As a young teen reading the book for the first time, I was convinced she was a black racer, because that was the only black snake I'd ever heard of.
So, when I spotted this lovely creature on a hiking path last fall, I naturally assumed she was a black racer. When I posted her pic to iNaturalist, that's what I called her. And that's where things got interesting.
I got in a conversation with some people who were more knowledgeable than I. They convinced me that my Louise (and, most likely, L'Engle's) was a black rat snake. They pointed to things like the amount of white on her chin, the shape of her eyes, and things of that sort that I wouldn't even have noticed. I'm sure they are right.
There are two "black snakes" in Southern New England--the Northern racer, and the black rat snake. Louise is large (as was the snake we spotted and photographed), and the black rat snake is the largest snake in the area, growing up to six feet long. It is a little heavier-bodied than the racer, too, and it is better at climbing. The black rat snake is also a constrictor, which fits Louise's firm grip. It's often found near rock ledges, woods, and small fields, which also fits.
So--although we can't be sure, I think Louise the Larger is probably a black rat snake. What do you think?