So, we arrived shortly after 11:00 AM and, as is the case this spring, it was cool when the sun was under the clouds. Eventually, we got to our favorite vernal pond... the Wood Frogs had already been there!
A fellow hiker told us that he had heard a commotion over in that area the other night... he thought it was a fight or something. Once he got closer, he realized it was amorous Wood Frogs making the racket!
A couple of other gents that were slowly walking the path engaged us in conversation about herps and nature hikes and whatnot. Eventually, they got way ahead (we are slow slow slow... always stopping to flip and inspect). The more sprightly of the duo came back to us saying they'd found a turtle about 200 yards up. Knowing there are Spotted Turtles in the vicinity, we hurried along with him! He had his elderly friend wait and watch the area so the chelonian didn't get scared in!
Well, it was still there when we got there. Sadly, it was a Red-Eared Slider... an introduced non-native species.
The turtle was adorable, doing his turtle-yoga and even twisting his legs in the sun. BUT, he looks as though he might have even been a recent release, as his eyes were swollen and gooey and he didn't flop into the water even when I got right up in his grill.
The poor fella.
I know I say it every time, but jeez... DO NOT RELEASE UNWANTED PETS INTO THE WILD!!! FIND A RESCUE OR AT LEAST, CONTACT ME THROUGH THIS BLOG AND I WILL TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!
So, we thanked the guys and went back to the spot we were at before being summoned by the gentlemen. We found a Snapping Turtle that was in worse shape than the slider!
Most of the skeleton was there... large bones, ribs with shell attached... this skull was fairly large, so there was a big feast here.
When we got back up towards the slider area, there was another chelonian basking... a young Painted Turtle!
As I walked along this damn area (hey, I'm trying to be cryptic), I saw a small greyish Garter Snake zip into a hole under a tree. I reached into the hole and my hand plunged right into mud. Now I know why he looked whitish-grey... he was covered with dried mud! Couldn't get a shot, though...
Nearing the end of this damn area, I gasped and clutched Andrea's arm... I saw a specimen of the animal we had hoped to find... a Spotted Turtle!
Ain't she a beauty?
We weren't the only ones enthralled with her beauty... this male was only about 5 feet away!
Hopefully, they hooked up and will make some young Spotteds! They are such a treat to see!
Further along, we started to see some Redbacks, though they were speedy and hard to photograph. Here's one illustrating that very point...
At right about the old half-way point (we were planning on adding on a new leg to the hike), Andrea said "I really want to see some stripes". Serendipity struck, I looked down and saw a Garter Snake squiggling by and grabbed him and said "like this?"
This made her very happy! Me too!
After a sit down, a snack and some water, we continued on. We got to our favorite pee-spot, but other hikers with bratty kids had decided to follow us, making us hold it for a while. So, we headed up the hill. To the right, there were large rocks. We turned toward them. A fine bathroom spot!
While I was... errr... looking for Wood Frogs, as we call it, Andrea was finding this feisty garter!
He wouldn't cooperate! We tried the "hat trick" (calming him in the darkness of my hat) to no avail...
Eventually, he relaxed enough for a full-coil shot.
And an even better nature shot!
At a creek area, we were hoping to find an adult Two-Lined Salamander, as we'd only seen larvae so far this year. I flipped one in the water, but one glimpse and he was gone. As I was wasting my time flipping rocks, Andrea scored with one on the shore... sharing the underside of a rock with a Redback!
I released the Redback who wasn't too thrilled about being in the observation tank...
When I emptied the tank, the salamander stayed on top of a leaf long enough for a nice nature shot!
I countered Andrea's find with this behemoth of a Redback!
Well, I flipped and flipped and flipped and finally announced to Andrea, who had ascended a fairly large hill flipping, that I was toast. My back was screaming at me and I was tired!! She called back "good thing I'm not toast" and held up her hand. I could see a snake, but not what kind! I ran up the hill with renewed energy and saw she'd found our first Ringneck of 2013!!
This guy was gorgeous! Not a scar on him and the brightest orange belly! But he was as cantankerous as they come, musking and squirming like mad! We had quite a chore getting usable pictures! But by the glory of digital cameras, we got a handful of nice ones out of the dozens taken!
Before leaving this spot, Andrea added a Leadback to our list!
So, we got to our usual rest spot for another drink of water. We'd texted a friend about the Spotteds (Hi Steve!) and Andrea went to look to see if he'd replied. That's when she saw a message from her sister, asking if we were OK after the explosions.
Explosions?
With just a cell phone, Andrea tried to find news on what that might have meant. She found it, sketchy as it was at the time. We decided to forego the new path-addition to the hike and head to the car to find out more. We could actually hear sirens and surmised that it was possible that they were going into town to help out. They were. Previously, we could hear Peepers calling, pretty much the whole length of the 3 1/2 mile hike. But now it didn't seem to matter.
Of course, the horror unfolded throughout the day. Details are still sketchy 3 days later. Some lives ended and all lives changed that day. I am grateful that Andrea, the love of my life and the best herping partner I could ever hope for, had the day off as she works right there where the Boston Marathon attacks happened.
And I'm grateful for the joy we had for the first 5 hours of this adventure.
¡Hermoso!!!! Unbeso x2 Martha
ReplyDeleteGracias, Martha!!!! (((abrazos))))
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