We didn't get there until after 9AM, which pretty much erases hopes of Racers... even though it is said that they can tolerate higher temps, I have never noticed them to hang out once the sun gets really hot! We set out into the woods!
One surprise was an early Garter Snake, found in a new place for us here!
He got very comfy very fast!
He tried some trapeze stunts with Andrea's watch band!
This Mockingbird posed nicely for us...
Next up, we were at Racer Alley and we saw a guy poking around some bushes. I called out, "looking for Racers?" He was! In fact it was our pal Steve from New England Herps (whose excellent website is here: http://www.newenglandherps.com/)! We had a great chat and exchanged herping tips! Sadly, neither he nor we had any luck with Racers on this day!
Once we sweated our way through the length or Racer Alley, we hit the "other side" and saw this fine American Toad!
Not that is a fine figure of a toad!
A puddle on the path had a Green Frog soaking in it!
A flipped log produced a very welcome find... a Wood Frog!
We just haven't been seeing many of them this year!
This stunning Viceroy butterfly stopped and posed for us! The camera proved how awesome it is with this one!
We saw a snake speeding through the woods away from the path... Andrea correctly ID'd it as a Ribbon Snake! I gave chase, nearly had him and then... he disappeared. DAMN!! He was a beauty too... about 16" to 18" long and clean and shiny! And fast. Better luck next time.
We did, however, find an old friend of ours... Bitey the Ringneck!
In a way, it's gratifying to find a repeat snake; you know that the last two weeks have been kind to them. This is the guy we removed from the bike-ramp, so we feel great that he didn't get squished. He also learned to show the bling!!!
Andrea went elsewhere for a moment and I flipped a couple of places near Bitey's home. All of a sudden my ankle was on fire! I looked down and there was a yellow jacket body on my shoe!! The fucker had stung me on my ankle!! It hurt like hell and I ran around screaming like a child!! But shit- that hurt!!
So, impaired, we flipped a few more things while my ankle throbbed away. We were lucky enough to find this fine young Eft!
But, pussy that I am, I said we should head back. (Well, this did happen at the mid-way point... we'd have turned back anyway!) But man, that was a shitty walk back! Mikey-poo had an owey.
I eventually stopped whining. Today, 4 days later, it's just itchy and barely achey. Sadly, my ankle only swelled a bit... not like the footballs I'd get when I was a kid!!
Hey mike, thanks for the props on the website, and nice find on the herper!
ReplyDeleteIt was far easier to find you than it was to find a Racer that day!! Your site rules!! I recommend it to anyone who will listen!
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