Snakes on a plane, er, in the yard!

There are supposedly 45 species of snakes in Florida... that's 45 too many for me! Only six (only?) are supposed to be venemous. How can ya tell - wait til they bite ya?

This snake (or one of his family members) has shown up in the yard several times now. It's supposed to be a garter snake, and non-venemous. Anyone know? I do know that when you let the hibiscus get too tall, and you walk out the back door of the pool cage and this booger is sittin on top of the bushes, starin ya in the face, it scares the bejeezus outta ya. Or when you step outside onto the front porch, barefoot and in your 2xist undies, or when you're pruning shrubs and you reach down to grab a branch you cut, and grab a snake instead, you wish you had your mobile with you, so you could dial 9-1-1 if needed. I thought garter snakes were a solid color...and anything with a pattern would kill ya. While I know Steve Irwin's specialty was crocs, I'm sure that if he was around, he'd be able to tell me whether I should steer clear of this probably deadly critter!

Definitely one thing I won't miss about Florida!