Respite from Holiday Madness. Christmas Eve and Christmas.

While some folks are upset by not having a white Christmas this year, we saw it as more of an unexpected gift. Rainy and mid Forties on Christmas Eve meant possible salamanders to us! We headed over to Brook Farm for a quick walk amid the holiday carnage. While we always hope for Ambystoma, we were thrilled to find a couple of Redbacks on December 24th.

Well, 1 1/2 anyway... that guy on the left hardly counts as a full one! I thought I had been responsible for the breaking of his tail because I saw some movement behind him, but then it crawled off. It was a centipede.

Even completely bundled, Andrea is so cute!


Christmas Day was even warmer... low 50s and the sun had even popped out. We went back to Brook thinking that a dumb Garter Snake was even possible in the balmy weather. Well, no... but we got three more Redbacks and they are our first ever Christmas Day herps!

^ Nice Fu Manchus going on...



Those pics were all with my "old" Nikon. But Andrea spoiled me good with a Nikon P600 for Christmas so, on December 26th (Friday), I took a cold morning swing by Forest Hills cemetery at 8 AM to try out that 60X zoom! There were a dozen Hooded Mergansers staying far away from me and they made the perfect test subjects.

Not too shabby!

This heron (GBH!) was on the shore as well...


So, yes... I think that this camera and I will become very good friends indeed!