Hoofin' It with Andrea. June 18th.

It was going to be overcast but warmish. Snakes popped into our heads. We decided to go to a place that has been ruined by human campers but still has a few spots where we could see some snakes and maybe a Musk Turtle. Plus, it isn't too hilly as long as we avoided a few paths.

Upward and onward, we got there late morning and headed to a snakey spot. I saw a Pickerel Frog on the way but he avoided my camera so we're still ZERO on the year. Upon getting to the snake spot, a speedy Garter made itself known.

There looks to be some damage in front of its eye. Not sure with the sand stuck to the face, but probably.

I flipped a log and saw nothing under it, but a Milk was laced up in the bottom of the log. I tried to carry the whole thing out to show Andrea and it slid out and got very angry with us.

Sorry, old chap. I see you're in the blue!

From there, we took a wrong path and wandered far from our goal in 200% humidity and the occasional sprinkle. Finally, we found our way to the pond we were after.  I flipped a pair of Fowler's under a rock.

I walked along the rocks on the edge of the pond near the spillway. This is where I'd hoped to find a Musk. I instead found an absolutely stunning, big ol' neatly folded Water Snake.

On the other side of the spillway, however, I saw a lump in the plants floating on the edge. And a little head pulled in right next to the lump. I reached in and got our First of Year Musk.

He really lived up to his name... he smelled like a freshly paved road.

I left it up to Andrea to see if she wanted to continue on or head back. She said "let's go on" so we kept walking around the pond. She had seen a huge distant shell and we knew it must be a Redbelly. On the way to a better vantage point, we saw a very small Painted Turtle catching some rays.

When I got within range of the big turtle, I finally got an OK shot... our FOY Plymouth Redbelly (here in Bristol County!) and an assortment of Painted Turtles. This Red-bell is a beast!

This mammal was sitting on the surface of the water. I thought it looked like a Beaver but we've never seen any Beaver activity in this area. Plus, the tail and body are above water so I'm calling Muskrat.

This side of the pond had plenty of Painted Turtles up despite the overcast day.

I got badly musked by a pretty Water Snake that I tried to pull out of the rocks. It was so pretty that I wanted Andrea to see it. Yikes- I got what I deserved. Washing up in the pond just wasn't enough. But we'd reached our turn-back spot anyway. Andrea had done a remarkable job. Then, she spotted this mini Redbelly basking. It's great to see that they are reproducing here.

We took it slow on the way back. I didn't get anymore animals photographed but this Moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria) was pretty cool.

There she is, struggling through a sand-trap. She did a little over four miles and tattered the bottom of the boot. But she says it was worth it and we saw some great animals, including two FOYs!

She is made of tougher stuff than most of us.