I almost stepped on this snake that was next to the porch. I somehow saw it out of the corner of my eye and stopped myself in time. The next thing I did was look at the tail to see if it was a rattlesnake. No rattles. That’s good, right? I thought it was a rat snake, but after taking this photo and looking it up later, I think it’s a cottonmouth. Oh, dear. I don’t know where it went but anytime I’m out in the yard I’m looking around for it. (When I took the time to photograph this snake when it was just a few inches from me, I thought it was a rat snake.)
It's a long story ... 
Ma’am don’t worry because that is a non venomous water snake, looks like a plain bellied (Nerodia erythrogaster) in your picture….and no…they don’t live in water but are often seen in or around water and they feed on water creatures most often so usually live near water for that purpose, but are also roamers and found elsewhere at times. It has a mouth so it can bite but it’s not aggressive and it’s non-venomous.