Lizards, snakes and frogs oh my!

I was grieving the fact that I could no longer use my Toledo Zoo membership when I realized that there is tons of nature right here in my very own backyard! Is that a good thing? First of all, there are tons and tons of lizards. They are all over the screen on the pool area, the yard, the outside of the house...It's like an Alfred Hitchcock movie! Today I even discovered one in the house on my paper towel roll. They are harmless, but it startled me nontheless so I threw the paper towel and screamed like a maniac into poor LB's ear (did I mention I had been on the phone with her when I started screaming with the Palmetto bug too). I'm sure it is dried up in the house somewhere by now. Then there are the frogs. We have all kinds...cute little tree frogs, big frogs, yellow frogs, the list goes on. Thank the Lord one of those hasn't gotten in, but I'm sure it's a matter of time. Last but not least there are the snakes...the very same day that I saw the lizard in the house, I discovered my 1st snake and it wasn't no gardener snake either! It was a big black one, a black racer. I figure the names appropriate because it sure got my heart a racing! Luckily, I'm on high blood pressure meds or I might have stroked out on the spot! Later my other "helpful" neighbor was filling me in on other kinds of snakes I might encounter in the neighborhood - as in right in my very own backyard. Let's see first there is the pygmie rattler (yes as in rattler snake), next we have the coral snake (as in 3rd most deadliest snake in the world), and then the harmless variety such as the large 5 1/2 FOOT bright yellow one he had removed from his garage. So now my motto is walk LOUDLY and carry a big stick!