There We Was, on a July Morning. July 1st, 2023

We started July with an early morning trip, breakfast on the road, to Plymouth County. We wanted to beat the Cape traffic so we were barreling down Route 3 at 7:30 AM. It was going to get hot, too, so the earlier the better. Andrea was in a brace and we would play it by ear as to how much hiking we could do.

Our first stop, we only did the top part, deeming the oil-line path too sandy and hilly for her ankle. We struck out, anyway. The second stop, the bogs, was flatter and has better trails. It also had a Painted youngster on a lilypad.

The bogs were in full bloom with Bullfrogs and Water Lilies.

I flipped a board next to the bog and a Fowler's Toad burrowed back, telling me that it wasn't there.

It's hard to believe that it took until July, but this is our first Pickerel Frog of 2023. It's odd to see them in the water here, they're usually hanging out up in the grass.

Another Bull n' Bloom.

Another Painter-Pad, this time a bit larger.

This being an actual, in-use cranberry bog, boxes of bees are brought in at certain points of the year for pollination purposes. This makes some of the paths a bit scary. I had the bad fortune of hitting this path right after a dirt bike tore through and had 3 stings! We carefully and respectfully walked by. You could hear them going over our heads but they didn't bother us. Or rather, we didn't bother them.

The other bog was also very froggy and we finally saw a Green after having heard them the whole time.

A Bull without a Water Lily.

Another pretty Green.

In the wooded area, I peeled back some bark. That almost never works, but it did this time and a Ringneck was unhappy to see me.

Our last sight at this bog was a gorgeous Fowler's who hopped into the grass.

So far, so good on Andrea's ankle, but we decided to go out of sequence in case it gave way. We hit the visitor's center, knowing Redbellied Turtles would be there. Oddly enough, there weren't any in the usual spot! But while looking, we both saw a Racer tail in the bushes... FOY! Except I couldn't procure it for pictures, so... the search continues. Once you miss it, a racer is gone like water down a drain.

While looking for it's escape route, I saw a young Painter basking on a board.

Andrea spotted a Redbelly swimming in the adjoining pond. Yay!

We sat at the end of a peninsula that overlooks the pond for quite a while, just enjoying the rest, the quiet and the sights. Far off in the distance, the camera picked up a couple of Redbells enjoying the sun in a human-free area.

As we relaxed, an Eastern Kingbird (#72) was preening right over our heads, allowing me to get this funny shot.

Andrea decided that she had some life left in her ankle, so we hit the trail that has been fruitful for Hogs, a Green, Ribbons and Garters in the past. We did half of it. No snakes, but plenty of Fowler's Toads. We'd seen ZERO on this path last year and out concerns were huge. It was nice to see them hopping along, plentiful and beautiful. Here are two the Andrea spotted right away.

A few Painters were up in the pond, but the angle was difficult to photograph. Here is my best...

Our last find was another peek under some bark... a Fowler's keeping cool on a hot day.

And that's that. As usual, we struck out on Hogs, but we couldn't hit our best (it's too hilly) path and we had to skip a few others. We'll see them again. It's all good, when you see other critters while you search for the trophy-target. We left the place happy and satisfied, if a bit sticky and tired. "Herping" in July is never very productive, so a 7 species day is A-OK with us.