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...

Looks like what I've been seeing in the stores lately called Opuntia Emerald Wave. Who knows what that means;)?Maybe Opuntia cochenillifera. I've seen that on Opuntias, well I've seen it on some of mine, where the new growth looks dehydrated. Once the pad gets bigger it should plump up.Remember these guys can take the sun. The more sun the merrier for this plant;).

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?

Thanks Belmont8. I looked at HMF photos, and it surely does have that look.