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.