Return of the Black-eyed Toads. 7-26-2025

A break in the sopping humidity and a pleasant high 70s. We wanted to see some snakes so we went to a spot in Bristol County where we could possibly see some despite the human activity. Of course, we overslept. Gibson actually turned on the alarm (the radio, anyway) and helped get us up and out.

On the way, at a rest stop, we actually had a wonderful surprise... we ran into the son we never wanted! I hadn't seen him for a few years and it did my heart a lot of good. He was stopping there for a "rest" with his better half... great timing. Thank you, Gibson, for a perfectly timed alarm.

We got there a little after 11:00 AM, which was late but what are you going to do? Worth it. Suiting up and spraying down, I realized that my backpack had been stolen when my car was broken into the other night. And here I thought they'd just taken my aspirin. Hey, you can't get blood from a stone but I've had that pack for decades. That one hurt. I had to carry around a bag.

Tiny toad season was in full bloom here. They were all over, even on the first path leading in.

Andrea spotted (hah!) a dark Pickerel near the water.

Up at the picnic table graveyard, I flipped a table-top that I'd laid in place on our last visit here and it paid off with a small in-the-blue Garter.

I saw a larger Garter elsewhere in the graveyard and it went under a board. Upon flipping the board, there was no Garter. What the...? 

Moving on, Andrea found a full-sized Fowler's.

The same path had an eager Garter. With all of the tiny toads (likely all Fowler's... Americans are rare at this spot), I'm not surprised to see this.

Another Fowler's, covered in web.

Now, back when we were first coming here, before it opened back up for human camping and habitat destruction, we would see toads with solid black eyes. They were often back bodied with translucent stomachs. Weird little genetic trait. A few bigger ones, but usually tiny to small specimens. The last record I have of seeing one is August, 2016. (Why do you think I keep this dumb blog?)

Imagine my elation when this little bugger hopped into my path.

We saw two more specimens after this guy. It's good to know that this trait is still running through this population.

We got to a spot where we could sneak a peek into one of the five ponds here. Painted Turtles were plentiful.

We got up to the campsites and hurried through. Screaming kids, frustrated parents, radios, bullshit... The shittiness was broken up by this Grey Squirrel who had grabbed a S'more out of a firepit and was enjoying a sweet snack.

We got up to the middle pond. Humans were swimming and carousing. One good note I made... I didn't see any dead fish around the edges. Usually, that's another thing to piss me off. We made our way around the pond (after taking a close look for Water Snakes and Musk Turtles) and a dark brown mustelid was seen poking around the rocks. Not a Ermine like we saw last month... bigger, darker and no white belly. It was a Mink this time. But I couldn't get a decent shot. I had one chance and it took a different route. This is the best I could do:

Cute, isn't it?😖

No Water Snakes around but we had some more Painter sightings. This first shot is as seen... perfectly framed, no editing needed. Hey- it matters to ME!

I realized that this park reminds me of two very important things... how much I love nature and how much I despise being around humans. There was one spot that I wanted to skip but Andrea suggested we take a sit-down for a few minutes and there are picnic table there for such things. As usual, she was right. There was a free table in the shade next to the pond and there were small Bullfrogs in the edge water.

A face-off!

We were low on liquids on the walk back to the car so, other than looking for Ringnecks under bark (which had been futile all day), we made pretty good time heading out.

Of course, we took one more peek at the picnic table graveyard before we left! It had been over four hours so who knows? This massive Pickerel jumped into my sights right away!

It was about 4" from tip of nose to butt. Pretty huge for a Pickerel!

The Garter that had disappeared earlier? Got him! Right where he should have been earlier.

Under the tabletop that had the in-the-blue little Garter in the morning, there was an adult that looked to be full of Tiny Toads.

Or maybe baby Garters.

I just had to look under some broken-up blacktop in the graveyard. A smaller but also full Garter was under one piece.

And another piece had, finally, a wee Ringneck.

That is why we always check the picnic table graveyard on the way out.

While seeing Matt made it so we really didn't need to see any critters and we'd still have a good day, we did see some critters so we went home pretty happy. It's funny how this place has been destroyed by humanity and "upgrades" made for humans, but nature still finds a way to exist. For now. I welcome back the beautiful Black-eyed Toads! 💕

But I liked the place a lot more when it was closed for camping.

Failing... It Takes Me Away. July 19th thru 22nd, 2025

A break in the heat-wave! Andrea on vacation! What could possibly go wrong? Well, it is July, which is a notoriously light month for critter sightings. But that doesn't mean we're not going to try! The 19th was a nice enough day but we had a previous engagement so we just tried to hit a couple of nearby spots on the way to our destination.

We stopped by the closed school and whereas it was flooded last time we looked in, now it was very dry. No snakes were out. No turtles, either, until we checked on the soccer field side where there were a few Painters swimming in the water.

We went to a nearby park to walk next to a brook for an hour before we'd have to leave. No snakes again, but through the over-growth, some basking Painters were visible.

We took a side path into the adjoining park because it was more shaded and we were getting a bit sweatier than would be accepted by our friends. We saw some distant Painters on this path.

We got to a turn-around spot and saw a couple of healthy Bullfrogs. The first one we named Joe for some reason.

The next day was Sunday and we decided to go to a good snake and turtle spot in Bristol County. Again, it was going to be about 80° and a bit sticky. We got there at about 10:30. Most of our reliable spots failed us. Or we failed them. At any rate, the first thing we saw was a speedy Redback  under some bark. He outsmarted me.

Andrea spotted a small Toad... not really tiny but pretty small. Interesting back splotch on this guy.

We got into a very long conversation with a woman and her dog that took up about 45 minutes but when we got back on the trail, this small Snapper was in the path and we figured that it was all worthwhile. We moved him closer to the water.

At the waterfall, we got our #62 bird on the year with a Spotted Sandpiper posing with a pair of Painters.

I missed a Garter in the Garter bush, just a tail disappearing. That was it for snake sightings. We got back to the bunk beds at the beginning and some Painters had come out.

Going back towards the Garden, we saw our first Wood Frog since March 22nd! It's the little things!

The garden once again turned up nothing. It's what I expected. Unexpected was a stroke of good fortune... like flipping our First of Year Four-toed Salamander. Finally some luck!

Well, we were sticky-gross sweaty so we got some ice-cream. The Four-toed earned that, I should think. While we munched, we headed over to the Mill where turtles and Water Snakes can be seen fairly reliably. There were a few Clubbed Midas Flies buzzing around (thank you Jef!) and they were fun to watch. My friend Jef noted that they are our largest flies.

It was pretty hot by now and the light was wrong for turtles to be easy to see. If you know how to look, Water Snakes could be found. And we know how to look. Deep in the cracks of the walls...

Good thing we know how to look because that was all we were going to see for snakes this weekend... and beyond.

The next day, Monday July 21st, was going to be in the 70's and no humidity. We hiked 4+ miles and the only picture I took was of this Red-spotted Purple Butterfly.

OK, the next day (Tuesday, July 22nd) was supposed to be the same so we made plans to get up at our usual work time and head into Middlesex County to look for Wood Turtles. We got there by 9:30 and started to scour the place, knowing that our best chances were in the woods. We spent a couple of hours seeing nothing, but our friend Mike noticed my car (Spackles bumper sticker!) in the lot and we hooked up for a nice talk. This place is one he hits quite a lot. Besides Mike, my only worthwhile sighting was a Cicada Killer.

Our intention was to hit another spot along the river that we'd stumbled upon a couple of years ago accidentally. I couldn't remember where it was, but at Mike's suggestion, we followed the river along a certain street and eventually got to a bridge where we could park. Down by the water, I finally got my camera on some cold-blooded critters. Green Frogs were present.

The trail was a little precarious and we were in danger of sliding into the river at any moment. We knew we wouldn't stay on it forever. Plus, the water didn't flow very well. Andrea had a Pickerel on the path that jumped away as I brought my camera near. She got a phone shot.

Further up, a Snapper showed me some mercy and swam into a patch of sun. I like how the Water Skimmers look on the surface over the turtle in this shot.

We turned back before too long and headed back to the road. We went further down and saw another wildlife management area and parked next to a familiar car... Mike's! We chatted briefly then went about scouring the woods and river for a couple of hours but saw no turtles, snakes or anything. No photos taken. Mike tells me that he struck out as well.

It's tough out there. We blew off the next day, Wednesday the 23rd, even though it was going to be nice again. Now it's a super-hot Thursday again. Band plays tonight. Tomorrow is super hot again. No clue what we'll do, but the four days in a row didn't produce too much. I gotta say, those "target" trips suck because if you fail, and don't see anything, target or otherwise, it can be pretty disheartening. I'll take a hike seeing common stuff... actually seeing common stuff any day.

Oh well.. the Four-toed was a nice surprise and seeing anything is a treasure so I shouldn't complain, but I'm sure my decisions were stupid and if we went elsewhere, we'd have seen more, but whatever. At least we saw some critters as well as a like-minded friend so it's all good.

This Isn't As Easy as it Looks Anymore. July 12 and 13, 2025

It was supposed to be pretty nice out so I dragged my sagging carcass out of bed at 6:30 AM and Andrea followed not too much later and we prepared slowly to get our butts out to Plymouth County at a reasonable hour and avoid Cape Cod traffic. The best laid plans... we still hit traffic but still managed to get to our destination before 10:30 AM which isn't too bad.

We hit the bogs first and right away, we saw a small Painted Turtle and a Green Frog within a foot of each other. Nice way to start the day.

There were plenty of lilypads present, something that was missing on our last trip here (a month earlier). There were many blossoms as well, which made this small Painter feel special.

An even smaller Painted Turtle...

Green Frogs were plentiful. They were calling and they were pretty easy to see. That's great news because on that last visit, all frogs were tough to find.

These guys are, as you can see, all very pretty.

We finally got to a vein of Bullfrogs.

Not a bad first stop. Of course, when we're in Plymouth County, we are invariably looking for trophy herps, too, and we still want our first Hognose on the year. Onward to the next spot.

It had gotten pretty sticky. Not super hot but extremely humid. The next stop is a mostly shaded set of trails that has the distinction of being a good Hog spot as well. We started off with a very pretty Fowler's Toad.

Being Tiny Season, we kept our orbs peeled for Tiny movement on the ground and saw a few. Tough to photograph, this is my only proof:

Another adult Fowler's:

We spent another couple of hours really examining the area closely but nary a snake was seen, Hognose or other. We packed up and went to the Visitor's Center where no turtles were up either. We was done shit outta luck. We made the decision to blow this place off until September in hopes of baby snakes being dumber (closer to our own intelligence) and perhaps easier to see.

The next day, we headed deep into Norfolk County to a lovely spot where we can usually see snakes, frogs and turtles. In other words, we won't walk for 3 or 4 miles with no photos taken. We got there late morning, parked free (old man tag!) and hit the restrooms (old man bladder). Once we got in gear, shivering in the heat because of the many humans in the parking lot, we went to a secret spot and saw a resting in-the-blue Garter. Last year's model, most likely.

So that's what snakes look like!! Who knew?

Not far from there was the smallest Pickerel Frog I have ever seen. I wish I'd have been able to slip a penny next to him but he wanted no part of that. It was an inch long, tops.

Here's a perfectly gorgeous Joan Jett Black Water Snake... just a stunner. Big gal, too.

I always get nervous for the vernal pools on hot summer days. This one still has plenty of water and is host to a multitude of tadpoles, Wood Frogs, I assume.

There were plenty of people present this day and that pretty much sucks but we stayed our course, avoiding them when we could. A fairly popular path had this outstanding Garter just out of the way in the bushes. It obviously has a hearty meal in the belly.

Out on the second leg, there are far less humans around. One of our more secretive spots was good for a Ringneck that was under a rock.

I was too slow to make a grab for it (to be fair, I am extremely gentle with such skinny snakes and I don't put a lot of force into my attempts) and Andrea didn't get a good look at it. Boo, me!

She found this plump normal-sized Pickerel next!

We hadn't yet seen a turtle despite the multitude of ponds so we "took the high road" and went on a higher path to overlook a pond we'd otherwise miss. Right at the beginning of the new trail, I got another Ringer under some bark. Andrea got a good look at this one.

This park has been good for Tinies in the past and it became pretty good near one of those hidden ponds. Two Tinies (likely American) hopped on either side of a log at the same time and ascended said log in unison. Cool sight, impossible to film. Here is one of them.

Later, we passed a kid and her mom in the path. The kid was sitting in a kayak. The mom happily chirped that her husband was looking for a place to launch. I asked the kid if she'd lost her water. She didn't laugh. I thought I was hilarious. Further up the path, the father walked by us. He had super offensive body odor wafting about him.

We walked through a field with a lot of milkweed but saw no Monarchs or their caterpillars. There were plenty of Milkweed Beetles, though.

We were on a path that is right next to a big pond. This was where we'd see some turtles. I could even see some shell-shine in the distance. Then, Stink-Boy's kayaks went right next to the basking spot before I could get there. Stinky Fuck.

We were consoled when Andrea found this gorgeous Green.

Heading back, we stopped to sit for a while at the waterfall that often has Water Snakes around it. It is also, unfortunately, a spot that humans and dogs frequent. As we sat, two women had their dog in the water but all three of them were behaving. From my poolside perch, I saw something sticking out of the water about 10 feet from them.

It's good to see a Nerodia who has adjusted to the traffic. He was under a rock except for about 6 inches of neck and head. There were some fish in the area and I did notice a small ruckus near where his head had been... and was now gone. I think it was enjoying an underwater lunch.

Guess who pulled up to the wall of the fall? Stink-Boy, with his kid in front of him. He stopped and  stared at the two (blonde) women with the dog, barely blinking. For an uncomfortable length of time. Smelly and  pervy. Andrea said later that one of the women yelled "Take a picture!" which makes me very happy. I hope his kid told his wife. Asswipe. Smelly Fuck.

So that's the weekend, the good, the bad and the smelly. We got sweaty and dirty but had fun, and still never stunk as bad as that piece of shit guy. I entered the work week (such as it was) with a sore back from flipping (and, more likely, the gardening I did with Andrea on the Friday before) and some weary muscles. Just the way I like it. Whether I like it or not.