I don't really mind most nonvenomous snakes, as long as I see them before I'm too close. Like some of you, I was actually very happy when a large King snake moved into the crawl space of our previous house. He was much more welcome than the rodents from the neighboring fields, that's for sure!
That said, last year I was raking the yard and noticed what looked like a very large earthworm frantically wriggling near my feet. About the time I realized it was really a tiny snake, it took off straight toward my open sandal. I jumped about two feet in the air and screamed like a little girl!
It only took a couple of seconds for reason to set back in, then I started looking around to make sure none of the neighbors saw.
I mean this thing was eight inches long, tops! (A little bigger than a pencil.)
Embarrassing!