really got the attention of my wife and daughter when I saw it slithering across the deck just outside the kitchen door.

It measured about 7 feet long, crossed the deck, then accessed a nearby hemlock tree via a branch that was about two feet from the end of the deck. It stretched over the open two feet, about 8 feet off the ground, then quickly slipped onto the branch, which dropped about a foot when the full weight of the black snake was on it. My daughter shot the photos with her phone.