May 27th... the Allendale-Tiki EVENT!

With plans to enjoy the annual Tiki Party with our friends Kate and Snag set for the afternoon, we decided to squish in an early morning Allendale walk to keep in herp-shape. Truth be told, we didn't even get there until after noon. But it's usually a very short hike for us so it really didn't matter!

Our first herp sighting was an American Toad, nestled into a log!


Up next... another American Toad! (I'm so happy to see they are out and apparently abundant already!


One of our goals was to find a Spotted Salamander, as we had not found one yet in 2012. BINGO!



Further down, at the pond, we were looking for Bullfrogs and Painted Turtles. Oddly enough, we didn't see any turtles basking... but Bullfrogs were!

This shot NEEDS a caption!



The turtles were there... they were just in the water!



And there were plenty more Bullfrogs, all of them quite large!




When we got across the pond, a long-shot photo revealed not one, but three basking Painteds on the far shore!


What fun would a trip to Allendale be without a feisty Garter Snake? It seems the Garters there are just a bit more ornery than most! This guy...

really made me work... chasing through the woods, bumping my back on a tree and making me run out of breath. But he's such a clean beauty! (Clearly the Paul's Grandfather of Garter Snakes!)


He got nippy...

So I decided to try once again for the snake-biting-my-nose-shot®, but to no avail...

But he left me with happy memories...


Ending the hike, a coppery Redback Salamander!


Now, I had promised Kate and Snag that I would hit the Tiki Party at 4PM to help out and move any Dekay's Snakes that might be in conspicuous places, or in potential seating rocks. There were plenty there... is it me, or is that gal on the left in a family way?!





Some of these guys were some of the party-goer's first-ever snakes! Some kids enjoyed seeing them and even a few snake-o-phobes admitted that the Northern Browns are pretty durn cute!

Throughout the night, many more of these guys were moved back, making me lose total count! Yay for a happy, thriving colony of snakes!! Yay even more for friends kind enough to let me disrupt their yard and party to play with them!!