Katydid and Northern Red-bellied Snake

Life is getting ready for winter in Michigan on this gorgeous autumn day. Woolly bears are scooting their midsections down the road apiece. I watched a katydid, walking on the bike path among the yellow, red, orange and brown leaves, stop for a minute to sort out what was tree and what was tarmac. The crimson poplar leaves look like kisses on the sidewalk. A little snake that I thought was a stick moved just as I was about to squish it. Got my cellphone out to take a picture and got close in. The snake stiffened its coils and raised its head, rolled up its top lip and showed me the inside of its black mouth. Freaked me out enough to not get the picture. Confirmed it was a Northern Red-bellied Snake because a man wrote about the same behavior. It escaped into the grass, safe from walkers and bikers. An enormous hawk soared overhead, head up to the blue sky, not hunting, just soaring. This is a day for soaring in Michigan.