Vacation in Plymouth County. Sept. 8th and 9th, 2025

Hey, look. Andrea has the week off. I have everything off. The weather was supposed to be "fabulous" all week so we made our plans. We'd failed to get into the field over the weekend (me messing up, then weather) so we planned on doing our usually fruitless hunt for Hognose Snakes in a Plymouth County State Forest on Monday. We got there at around 11 AM and as soon as we stepped out of the car, I said, "I don't think we'll see any snakes today." Pessimist? No, it's just that it was cloudy, breezy and about 63°

We went to the bogs first and the first thing we saw was a 2 1/2" carapace up on the moss. I feared that it might be dead but I picked it up and it went even further into it's shell. Alive and unhappy. We let it be.

Bullfrogs are always an easy sight here and happily, it held true on this day.

Fowler's Toads were plentiful. We flipped 'em, we saw 'em hopping by... they were everywhere.

What did I say about Bullfrogs? Lots of them.

We tried out a newer-to-us path that produced a Hog last year. No, no Hogs but Andrea flipped a log that had a Fowler's and a Mole Cricket under it. I had never seen the likes of the Mole Cricket before. Very strange and cool.

We did our usual Hog-walk after that, 2+ miles of seeing absolutely nothing. Not surprising but very defeating. If we'd have seen a Garter while trying for Hogs, it would be awesome. Seeing nothing just drags you down. Our last spot was the Visitor's Center where one Painter was basking with clouds in the sky.

That was all we could muster in almost six miles of hiking. Certainly not a record day but it's better than not trying at all. We may try one more time later in the month or October but at this point, I don't really care anymore. I'd rather see stuff.

The next day was supposed to be sunnier but still not warmer than 70° at best. We figured we'd try for shoestrings and walking pebbles again at the turtliest place we know, again in Plymouth County. We headed out and, once again, got to our destination at about 11 AM. With the nights getting so cold these days (the seasons really changed quickly this year) we're not worried about missing early birds. Or snakes or turtles.

It's nice hitting these places on weekdays. Tuesdays seem nice and quiet. We didn't take the usual path in, figuring the Spotted Turtle bog would be dry. Some parts looked low, some parts looked normal. Who knows if we made the right choice? We saw no Spotteds. We did, however, see some Bullfrogs.

Andrea had this Pickerel Frog hop in front of her.

Of course, with the season coming to the end, Painted Turtles are all trying to get in the last minute rays so we knew we'd see hundreds of Painters. And we did. I missed dozens of shots before getting any but I knew I'd wind up with dozens of good ones by the end. And I did.

Well what do you know, an honest to goodness snake. A Water Snake, looking like a stick.

The first Green Frog that we'd seen in a while.

Some more Bullies.

Another patch of Painted Turtles.

Be still my heart... an actual Garter Snake with something in its belly.

Andrea saw another Water Snake that I had walked past. I thought it was a stick.

At the main pond, we'd expected to see loads of Painted Turtles. And we did.

Turtle clusters were everywhere! This one even has a Redbelly over on the right side.

The Water Snake baking rock had a big girl in the grass next to it. I couldn't get a shot and Andrea couldn't see her so I made a catch. A few little nips... that's OK, but she musked me into the next county and as you know, Nerodia musk has some serious staying power. Worth it. She's a cutie! Look at her anger-nape!

Also at that rock, Andrea noticed a European Praying Mantis who seems ready to pop out her ootheca. Big belly!

I didn't realize that the egg sacs over-wintered. Interesting.

Working our way out, another Pickerel hopped into my path.

Another mixed chorus line... Redbelly far left with a pair of Painters.

Andrea found this massive Water Snake in the drink. Over 3 feet, easily. Gorgeous.

Speaking of Water Snakes, if you look closely, you'll see a photo-bomb in this Painter portrait. In the lower left corner is a massive Nerodia noggin.

How are those tannins working out for you, Painty old boy?

Last chance at the flippin' rocks. They were in the sun and very warm. The one in the shade had a Pickerel under it, of all things.

That was it. We had seven species, back to our usual number! Over six miles hiked and we weren't fatigued. I feel this was a good day but it was a Snapling short of being a very good day. We'd searched long and hard for walking pebbles but saw none. No shoestrings, either. But it was nice to finally see some snakes and a plethora of Painters. In a few weeks, everything will be gone.

But Andrea is still on vacation. We're taking a breather today (Wednesday) but plan on hitting some more trails in the upcoming days.