Seemed like a good idea at the time! 6-3-2012

OK, I've been sick. Plus, the weather has sucked. But that doesn't mean we can't take a hike! Considering the weekend had been cold and rainy, with Sunday supposedly being in the high 60s, low 70s, we thought we'd buck the odds and head to Myles Standish in search of Hognose Snakes. Or Redbellies. Or just get out of the house!

So, we got there early enough and hit Electric Toadland. No toads, but as Andrea was doing something (God only knows what) behind some bushes, she spotted a Spring Peeper! Then another!! I helped her corral them, all the while watching my step, and we got a lovely portrait of two different color phased Peepers!


We figured that hitting College Pond (before humanity destroys it for the year) would be a good idea. Pulling in to the lot, some Cowbirds greeted us.


We were one of two cars in the lot. Niiiice! (Though the other one belonged to some hearty souls who were already swimming, including a child who screamed like Lux in "New Kind of Kick").

The pond was bursting with new amphibian life!



There were lots of mammal tracks around the shore.... these might be raccoon prints!


So, we walked around flipping and trespassing on peoples property who weren't there, y'know...  but we weren't finding much. There was a very cool breeze and the sun just wasn't going to come out. We finally found a robust Redback Salamander!


Flipping at an unoccupied cabin did produce something new (to us) for Myles Standish... a lovely young Ringneck!

Andrea picked it up and made faces at it!


So, after that, we left College Pond and road herped. Myles Standish kind of blows because there are limited places to park and hike. I saw a brave turtle cloud-basking from the road and pulled over. He was long gone before I could get there to take a picture. I scared a bunch of frogs into the pond as I approached. At least I got a shot of one Bullfrog that didn't mind my presence.


So, we hit a couple of spots that we knew we could park at. It was feeling pretty raw, but we needed to get more familiar with the park, so we soldiered on. There were some lovely water lillies popping up!


We pulled into the parking spot for the trails that we got horribly lost in last year. Deciding to stick to the main path, we headed in. Hey- isn't Miles Standish known for toads?? Where the toads at, yo? No hognoses because of no toads!

BUT, this last trek finally produced a handful of Fowler's Toads, all about the same size. Once again, all was well with the world.





So we left happy and glad that we spent the time learning the trails a bit better. This place is frustrating because there is so few places to park and so damn much land to cover!! A species-specific herping will always mess with your head. So, no Hoggies or Redbells, but Andrea caught the Ringneck!

I caught a tick. It was embedded in my lovehandles when I got home.