The first snake skin of the season appeared about six weeks ago, stretched out in a long line across the concrete of the carport in almost exactly the same spot as the one I found last year — the one I measured and looked up in the Audubon Guide to confirm its non-venomous nature. Upon spying this new one, I congratulated myself — since there was no one else there to congratulate me — on what amounted to a non-reaction, i.e., “Oh, look. A snake skin.