Crawling out of its skin

The caterpillars in the backyard are not the only ones that have been growing too big for their skins.  As I was walking by our fig tree, I noticed something tangled among the aerial roots.

A shed snake skin entwined in a fig tree.

A snake had used the twisting roots, with their rough bark and narrow gaps, to hold back its old skin while it kept on going.  I could not identify the previous owner from the skin itself, but one candidate was a southern black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) that I had seen in the neighborhood earlier that day.

A southern black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) sunning itself on a wall.

A couple of days later, I found the southern black racer again (or another very much like it) and this time in our backyard. 

A southern black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) watching me from the foliage.

Despite its somewhat malevolent appearance, this snake is neither venomous nor aggressive.  It can bite if threatened, but it is much likelier to disappear rapidly into the undergrowth (which is the way that both of my encounters ended).