Well yesterday, after our last storm, I had planned to go try to net some Two-Lines. But traveling even a mile in a blizzard was deemed too dangerous and we passed on it. Today (Tuesday), however, I had to go to work despite the snow so I figured I'd try to hit a stream on the way home. But first, I needed some groceries. I got an extra box of cereal to share with some avian friends in the parking lot. They saw me and came running!
I headed over to Allandale Woods, which was a complete white-out. I snuck through the school lot near it and soon ran out of shoveled walkway. I trudged on in the direction of the stream. The snow was knee deep in spots...
and thigh-deep elsewhere.
There's kind of a path there... right?
I finally found my running water, though it didn't look easy to get to!
I made my way down and started flipping rocks in the icy water and netting beneath. I started to find some larvae and even a young adult. I lost two larvae when cleaning the water but wound up with 9 Eurycea bislineata in my spaghetti container from lunch.
Satisfied, it was time to leave. Getting back wasn't going to be really easy either...
Soaked but happy, I got home to a clean sidewalk and parking space, thanks to the lovely Andrea.
Even though I technically cheated on her by herping alone, she was glad she didn't have to wade through 4 feet of snow. And now we can say we have our February herps. There are more storms in the forecast so, should we live that long, it looks like we'll be waiting for our Everglades trip for more cold-blooded treasures.
