Snake in a tree

Thinking some kids had thrown an old bicycle inner tube up in a tree, I only gave it a passing glance until my friend yelled over, “Hey.  What’s that in that tree?  Is it a snake?”  I looked away from a promising woodpecker hole to throw a glance in the direction they were looking.  Huh!  The things you see when you actually look.  I walked over to them to contemplate the non-inner tube.  We decided it probably was a rat snake since they can climb trees and birds and eggs are some of the things they eat.  It’s tail was still hanging in what appeared to be a large hole.  What it was doing in a dead tree in the middle of a swamp is anybody’s guess.  But it looked full and happy.  Or at least satiated and not moving in the hazy sunlight.