Ending June... the 28th and 29th.

Andrea had to work until the afternoon but it was such a nice day out that I convinced her to take a hike (with me) upon completion of her work-day. We both had the same idea: to go look for birds at a nearby park. We didn't see a ton of birds, but had a nice walk and saw some critters.

This Muskrat was eating up the grass and white clover. We got pretty close and he didn't move. Eventually, he slowly sauntered off into the brush.

Likewise, a Bumblebee was buzzing on some Milkweed flowers.

A neatly folded in-the-blue Garter was catching some rays from a well hidden spot.

We made it down to the river and through the trees, I saw some Painted Turtles basking. I thought there was just three but uploading the picture revealed three more.

A diva always finds their light. This Garter was fabulous.

That was it for a lovely afternoon walk at a nice local spot.

The next morning, Saturday, we got up and out early for a walk around a favorite spot in Plymouth County. We got there at 9 AM and hit the trails. The place had grown in considerably since our last visit (about a month ago) and many of the viewing spots were covered. No Spotted Turtles to begin with, like we usually did.

Bullfrogs were calling constantly and finally, I got my camera on one.

We finally got enough clearing where we could see some Painted Turtles up.

Remember last time we were here when there was a Kingbird on her nest? This is what the nest looks like one month later.

An absolute monster of a Bullfrog. Check out his scars. Tough guy.

Another biggie.

Some Painters in varying degrees of fabuloscity. The last guy was trying to bipedal.

The Tree Swallow tree was in full bloom.

We sat at a bench at the far point of our hike and were joined by a guy from South Carolina who knows this place. He was a fisherman and a hunter but he was OK, as long as he wasn't saying he wanted to kill my #52 bird, the Double-crested Cormorant. (They steal his fish.)

From that vantage point, we could see two matched sets of Red-belly/ Painter couples.

We moved on and I missed a large Water Snake photo. We weren't seeing a ton, but were still having a nice hike. Andrea rested up before we got to the end.

A couple more Painted Turtles for the road...

And lastly, a large Garter who must be absolutely stuffed with young 'uns. Look at her massive head, too.

So, not gangbusters but still a couple of lovely walks to end off the month. No injuries, no illnesses and only one pair of ripped pants. Win win win!