It was about 57° and overcast when we got there. Oh well... might as well look around. We were hoping to see nesting turtles in some of the open areas, but didn't. The garden has plenty of stones that snakes seem to favor but they were still cold to the touch so we doubted we'd see anything. Much to my surprise, for the second time this weekend, we saw a Milk first thing. He was crawling through the cool, dewy grass.
I'm fairly certain that this poor specimen has Snake Fungal Disease. That could be a lingering hibernation sore or a healing wound, but I suspect it is SFD. Perhaps after his shed, things will look better. Needless to say, I scrubbed my hands with charcoal soap after handling him.
There wasn't a lot of animal action on our walk. It was quite some time before we saw another, in the form of a bright Red-backed Salamander.
Under a rusted car hood, we found a couple of sleepy Garters.
Out on the river, the resident Swan couple had three babies.
Those sunny breaks never came. Out in the distance, we saw what Andrea called "the us of turtles"... a Painter who refused to admit it was shitty out.
Heading back through the garden on the way out, we saw this slender Garter.
The Milk was still hanging out in the open, obviously waiting for one of those sunny breaks to get some Vitamin D to help the healing process.
Hopefully, he got what he needed over the next couple of days when, naturally, it was sunny and warm.
Not a great hike but the air was clean and we got to spend time in the woods enjoying nature. Some Crows were defending their nest (probably against a Red-tail) and were making a racket most of the time we were there. Very interesting.
As I noted, it was warm and sunny just in time for us to get back to work. Andrea made the most of it on her walk to the train... 2 Garters on Tuesday...
and 3 more on Wednesday!
Urban Garters. That's a good way to finish up May.
mmmmmmmmm turtle.....
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