Snakes, Lizards, Bears, oh My!

I'm a Cali gal...born and raised. I saw 1 snake in my 30+ years of living there and only encountered a couple bears from afar. I remember when we bought our house in the Highlands. I was petrified of the bears, mountain lions, snakes and coyotes I had heard about. After living there for a year or so, my fear subsided to a heightened awareness during the Summer when the animals were out more. I never came face to face with a bear or mountain lion but they did make their presence known through various means. I only saw 2 snakes in my 5 years there~ one the day before we moved out of NV. By the time we moved I was disappointed to say goodbye to the wildlife that fascinated me (I was still scared of mountain lions but not bears or coyotes). Now that we're here it's become a different type of wildlife that I fear. I'm not a fan of lizards or frogs but I absolutely despise snakes. Unfortunately, they've become a part of life here. If you were to visit our house, you'd pull up and think I was lazy because our front flowerbed is overgrown with weeds. Truth is that last Summer I was pulling weeds when a snake slithered out and literally came face to face with me. Since that day I've only pulled weeds during the Winter...when there aren't many. Saying to the boys, "Watch for snakes" has become routine. We were at the pond yesterday and P almost stepped on one. Thankfully it slithered away one way while he ran the other way. Our neighbor boys catch garter snakes all the time but I don't know the difference in types of snakes so I tell my boys to leave all snakes alone. In the South, every harmless AND poisonous snake resides. But such is life. I can't say my fear of snakes has subsided to a heightened awareness. Ironically I'm more scared of snakes than bears still. But I guess you just learn to conquer your fears no matter where you live because there's wildlife everywhere. So cheers to the wildlife that make every day life interesting!