What do you know about garter snakes?

     Today, on a very hot and humid day, I stepped out of the garage door to walk out to the street to get our mail. There in the center of our fairly large cement garage apron was an adult garter snake. She was slowly moving toward the edge of the cement but seemed to be in no hurry. She was about 2 feet long and I thought she had a bit of a swelling in her mid section. Maybe she is pregnant or else has eaten recently -- I don't know which. I took a couple of quick steps toward her and she raised her head as though to strike, her tongue flicking in and out. One more quick step toward her and deciding flight was the better choice, she slithered very quickly, even throwing her tail section ahead of her middle section to get the heck out of there. Earlier this summer while mowing, my husband said he saw a snake on our lake bluff. I find this interesting because we have lived here for 13 years and I have never seen a garter snake before. I am used to them, however; there were always garter snakes in our yard where I grew up. My mother had the typical fear of them and if one was seen and she had anything to do with it, she would get the garden hoe and that snake was no more. Actually she was doing the wrong thing. Garter snakes are harmless and they help us by eating rodents which can be quite destructive in our yards. We have a lot of moles and voles, and chipmunks and field mice. Sounds like a smorgasbord for garter snakes to me.