That’s quite a story. Here in west Michigan we have many kinds of snakes. When we had dairy goats and would pile up the wasted straw from their bedding, the vey large garter snakes around here sunned themselves and also dug into the pile. I imagine as it composted it provided extra warmth.
I ran into a Massassauga rattler while playing golf down thee road from you (Albion).
Be careful in the tall grass. There rattle sounds just like the grass rubbing together in a breeze.