Not my favorite time of year. But we won't stop, even in the dead of winter. As long as we don't imperil the animals or their habitat, taking a peek around at this time of year can still be rewarding.
On Saturday, the 4th, we took a quick stroll over to the Valley in our local spot. It was in the Forties and a bit overcast and we knew that snakes would be very improbable. Still, even before we hit the Valley, we flipped a large Blue-spotted under a trash can. This one may be a bit Jeffy, too, as it was fairly large and not as spotty as some.
A nice Redback was flipped in the Valley.
These two Redbacks formed a lovely figure 8 that took me some time to figure out whose body is whose.
That was it for the day. It was very chilly and we headed off to a Punk Rock Flea Market. While we were still out near Weymouth or wherever we were, I realised I didn't have a Ring-billed Gull on the year yet so I snapped off #83 in a dirty parking lot.
We didn't get out again until Friday the 17th on Andrea's lunch break. We hit the dens again because it was very nice out. The log near Sly's den has held many treats for us over the years. This was another... a triple species flip. I had to move the Blue-spotted over a bit but the Spotted and the Redback were nose to nose when I flipped the log.
The Valley didn't have any snakes about but since it was so nice, we headed in to the Cottonwood Dens. They were much more to our liking, giving us a Garter right away.
This is the best shot I could get of his head...
About 10 feet away, this coil of perfection was grabbing some sun.
Looking down on me from above that coil was this haughty little periscope!
Quite the curl!
On the way out, we flipped a lovely Goldtop Redback, ending the short hike with style.
That's going to be it for November but beggars can't be choosers. Two days out is better than no days out. We'll not be beach walking for stranded turtles this year (though we're signed up to drive) due to Andrea's continuing ankle recovery and the plantar fasciitis that has been plaguing me this year. We're sad about that but we have to be sensible. 2023 has been another off year in so many ways, we want to be sure to be in top form for the 2024 season.
