This morning around 7:00am, I was watering my flowers and was surprised to see a fairly long, brown snake stetched along the drive way into the mulch about 10 feet away from me. I froze (not being much of a snake person) and then walked slowly away. By the time I had returned with my phone for a pic, the snake has slithered into our grass. I sent you a pic from my phone and am hoping you can identify it for me. In the 6 years we have lived here, I've never seen a snake. We are in a semi-rural area. Any information would be helpful. I like to work in the garden...how can I do this harmoniously with my "new" visitor?

The snake shouldn't cause any issues. If it is in an area that you want to garden in, just use a broom to gently encourage it to move away. I can't see the tip of the tail in the photo you sent, and it's hard to see the head clearly, but I think it is a Northern Watersnake. They are not venomous, but they will try to bite if they are handled.