Hello Joe Just wanted to let you know that I found the name of the plant. You were right it was in fact a euphorbia. Euphorbia bougheyi Thanks for putting me on the right track Joy

Not sure about the 1st one but the others look like some hybrid habs. Unfortunately alot of people have been stung like this ( me being one of them). I bought some plants from hirts garden and every plant was a hab hybrid. Still plenty hot but frustrating.Not one of them looked the same.

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...

Spicebush was my first thought also. The bright yellow leaves are right for spicebush fall color as well as the overall branching and leaf shape.