Well...I appreciate all your responses, and I'm going to assume it's a common garter snake...for my OWN peace of mind...LOL I believe he was so grumpy because of the flash from the camera...it probably scared the bejeezus out of'm. Plus...I'm wondering if it isn't the onset of hibernation time. I mean, afterall, he WAS way down under some pretty hard, clay covered by about 4" of mulch. He was probably sleeping...or getting his last full meal of night crawlers when I uncovered him. *I'm in SE PA, not Florida at the moment. He's gone now and I don't know where...hehehe...but I covered the hole back up with the mulch. BTW: When I let Picture it! automatically tweak the color and brightness levels, the colors of the snake were changed a bit. Here are two pics showing actual color...

Maybe i have it tho i have been staring at plants with orange berries on google for awhile so my eyes might be crossed but could it be two leaf nightshade? Anybody familar with that plant to confirm that?

Yup, agreed on the ID. You could probably take cuttings a few nodes long & pot them back into mother plant's pot, to make it look even more full & lush.

What had me so confused it that the leaves of Sherwood Blue Woodland Phlox change shape and texture. They went from the low growing thick leaves to thin and hairy leaves...total change in appearance. I found this info below to confirm what was confusing me on this ID. It may be of interest to other gardeners: "Yes, the leaves of 'Sherwood Blue' Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) change in both appearance and, to some extent, texture throughout the growing season, primarily due to the plant's production of two different types of shoots. Later in the season, the plant leaves behind a lower-growing, carpet-like mat of infertile (non-flowering) shoots. The leaves on these shoots are generally wider, have more rounded tips, and are less hairy than the initial spring leaves." - source AI google question