The door in the photos below is to my tool room in the Annex. Guarding the door is our resident Black Snake, Murray. 
Wikipedia assures me Murray is a “good” snake (my word, not theirs);

Rat snakes live in a variety of habitats; some overlap each other. Rat snakes are excellent climbers and spend time in trees. They live in habitats ranging from a rocky hillside to flat farmland. It prefers heavily wooded areas and is known for having excellent climbing ability, including the ability to climb the trunk of large mature trees without the aid of branches; the snake is also a competent swimmer. During winter it hibernates in dens, often with copperheads and timber rattlesnakes. This association gave rise to one of its common names, pilot black snake, and the superstition that this nonvenomous species led the venomous ones to the den.

While Black Snakes are harmless, I give this guy a wide birth because… well, he’s a snake. Like the article says, where you find Black Snakes, you’ll find copperheads. I killed at least a dozen last summer. Fortunately, they tend to stay on the ground. Like Indiana Jones, I hate snakes. But they’re part of rural living, so…