Sept, 18th 2011 Massasoit. I don't have a clever title.

This guy is keeping an eye on you to make sure you're reading everything...


Second day in a row with temps in the low 60s, so we figured we'd get to Massasoit early to see who would be waking up.

First up, we saw a Green Frog taking his morning bath! Sexy! There was a Pickerel frog nearby peeking.


Hey look! A Redback!


Of course, we came for the snakes. We only found one... this gorgeous, dark Milk Snake.


He was decent sized, too. We thought at first he was getting ready to shed, because he was so dark, but he was shiny and iridescent. Beautiful chocolate brown saddles that showed some red in the sunlight.


Know why I love Andrea so much? She holds snakes while wearing SUSPIRIA t-shirts and a leather jacket!


He was very well behaved... just a quick nip when I first picked him up, though he, like many Milks, struck at the camera. Must have thought his own reflection was a menace. We let him go and he crawled back to his hiding place.


Nearby, an American Toad who was resting in a discarded car floor mat looked relieved that the Milk Snake was gone. The inchworm on his leg didn't care either way.


Hey look! Another Bufo Americanus! Nice to see these guys still out and about!


This snail was large and cool...


Not to be outdone, this chubby Fowler's Toad hopped into our lives.


Andrea found this fatso American Toad half burrowed into some dirt under some bark. He looked so put upon...


This tree, broken in the storm a couple of weeks ago, was sportin' some fine fungi!


I got a really up close look at a Pickerel Frog!


So, down by the pond that we love so much, we were disappointed by the lack of turtles. Then we took a shot of a log in the distance and saw this...

A shell! We slowly moved closer, while Andrea hissed "it's about fucking time we see a fucking turtle..." And not just any fucking turtle! It's a Musk Turtle basking! Maybe it's the same guy as our trip in July, because these guys are not supposed to be baskers!!


So we were happy to have seen a fucking turtle!

On the way out, we found a Fowler's Toad and a Pickerel Frog at the same time and it afforded us the opportunity to do a side by side comparison...


Please refer to these shots when someone asks what the differences are between toads and frogs.

Lastly, I present a shot showing a Fowler Toad's excellent camouflage...


OK, so we ended snake-count week with only one more addition. The sad last weekend of summer had come to a close, but we'd put in 11 1/2 hours of hiking time, so we have nothing to whine about come January.