Paying Our Respects to the Magic Tree. 8-15-2026

We got the bad news during the week. The Magic Tree, our ground zero for Massachusetts Rat Snakes, had fallen. It was just a matter of time. We wanted to visit there within a week of it falling to see if there had been any eggs in it or if, perhaps, there was a baby Rat Snake around. We headed out to Worcester County later than hoped for (Gibson wasn't as effective at being an alarm clock as we'd counted on), getting there just around noon.

We headed directly to the tree site. And a sad sight it was.

Que Sera, Sera. 

We looked around and saw no eggs or young 'uns so we moved on. A nearby field was just hopping with Pickerel Frogs. Dozens were jumping around in the dewy grass. This is the one I got the camera on. The whole day.

We hadn't seen a snake since our July 26th Copperheads. I flipped a rock and we finally had an August snake... a shy Ringneck. You can see the head poking out to the left of the stick.

Parked at the side of  the field, a lawn plow's shovel had been filled with water, obviously for quite some time. Two Green Frogs thought it was just perfect.

I was very surprised to see an Eft under a rock in a nearby wooded area. I guess the recent rain had brought it down. All of the watery spots were very full. A ranger said that they'd been inundated with rain the past two weekends.

At a small "house" not far from the tree (more of a presentation center), there was a folded tarp in the back. Under it was a feisty Garter!

In the bottom fold, a Ringneck was resting.

Up on the road, I turned over a rock next to a foundation and had another very excited Garter. I brought it out to the road to try to get a shot and maybe some film for the band video I'm making. I got both but I don't know if I'll use the footage.

That Garter was sure pissed, though.

The swampy area had a handful of Painted Turtles up basking.

Towards a beach area, I turned over a rock and two good sized chubby American Toads were under it!

They hopped out, which is all well and good except a guy had a very interested dog on a leash (thankfully) watching it happen. The guy was cool and kept the dog away while the toads hopped back into the cracked foundation of the wall.

Walking through a wooded area, I got the biggest surprise of the day. Now, I know I've been called "the guy who likes Redbacks more than anyone else" and maybe it's true. But we hadn't seen one since June 28th of this year and this guy just looked very good to my Caudata-loving eyeballs.

Yes, I was actually giddy about seeing this guy! So damn happy to see it.

Up by the front where the water is clearer, I expected to see some Painted Turtles up but there were none. The rocks along the edge of the water are great snake spots in the morning but it was much too hot by now. However, close inspection revealed a pretty Water Snake in the grassy reeds on the other side of a spillway. I like the way the plant frond looks like a long droopy tongue.

We made our way back to a flipping spot that we'd passed by in the morning to get to the tree. A small American Toad stopped on some star-moss for a lovely shot.

I lifted some bark back there and saw an orange belly slipping away and made a blind grab... managed to safely secure our third Ringer of the day for a photo.

We were back to the car now. Andrea had to visit the facilities and got talking to the rangers. I decided to take one last peek at the fallen tree area. There were no Rat Snakes over there so on the way back to Andrea, I swung by the house again and noticed a massive, rough-scaled skin that hadn't been there before. Interesting. That made me go back to the tarp... just in case.

The Ringneck was still there and this Garter was under it.

Upon comparing labial and parietal scales, I deduced that this is a different Garter than the pissed off one from a couple of hours earlier.

I met back up with Andrea and we had a good conversation with the rangers. They plan on leaving the tree as-is for now and moving it over next to an older fallen part later on. They're an excellent group of people there.

So, hot damn. We had nine species. Not too shabby! But we still had a little more juice so we went to another spot about three miles away where we'd seen Milk Snakes and had removed a half dozen Painter hatchlings from a spillway a couple of years ago.

There was only one thing in the spillway... a large Bullfrog who would have no problem finding it's way out the other end. Tenth species on the day, by the way.

I was standing near the water's edge looking out for turtles and stuff when a small Green Frog hopped into the tall grass in front of me. I didn't think I had any kind of shot but tried anyway. I ended up with one of my favorite photos of the day!

We ended the day on a Painted note and a nice sit-down at a picnic table where we'd seen a Water Snake and Painted Turtle speed off upon our arrival.

So, at ten species, we treated ourselves to milkshakes, our first of the year.

This day was exactly what we needed; a salve for our hearts and brains that have been dealing with a lot of sadness and anxiety of late.

Hot Heat and Soft Shell. 8-8-2026 and 8-12-2026

That Saturday was going to be a scorcher and we had no clue what we wanted to do. Of course, getting out early didn't happen and we knew we'd have to get to a place with turtles because by this time, snakes would not be happening. We chose one of the new (to us) places that we'd successfully reconned in July, with the idea of hiking then looking at the antique and thrift places in the area.

Happily, the first sight we had was a Snapper who seemed to pop up to say hi, then come over and swim past us in a patch of sunlight, giving us a beautiful look at its prehistoric majesty. Here is its snout, the only picture I took of it.

(Sometimes you just have to watch and enjoy nature, not worry about "getting the shot". I regret nothing!)

Other than that, there were a few Painted Turtles up basking but they didn't stay up too long in the beating sun. It was hot. The swimming guy had the right idea.

Our favorite part of the hike was a shaded bench in the woods overlooking the water. Peace, tranquility and distant turtles. This shot shows a half dozen up basking with a young drake Wood Duck hanging out behind them.

One more Painter on the day.

So no, we didn't see a ton but we had the chance to get out and enjoy nature, see some turtles and immerse ourselves in the greenery of the woods. And in the heat. We were sweaty messes by the time we hit the antique places. No worries. Our money was still accepted, damp though it may have been.

During the week, Andrea alerted me to a photo taken at a nearby pond. Someone had photographed a Softshell, a species of turtle not native to these parts. We've heard of single specimens popping up in the state, all of them obviously released pets, but never this close to us. Sadly, the pond where this turtle supposedly is isn't the most fruitful hike. We have walked it before and noticed a dearth of basking spots. Still, I wanted to give it a shot so on Wednesday the 12th, I took it upon myself to scout the pond again.

I noticed the same thing. Very few spots for turtles to get up and bask. Finally, Three quarters of the way around, I saw a rock protruding from the water and photographed it to compare to the Softshell picture online.

Wow, has Hit Me With Your Nature Stick resorted to posting pictures of empty rocks?!

I saw a stick out beyond that rock that looked like it might have a Painted Turtle up on it but it was too far away for me to get a decent shot. Then I looked back at that rock. Not two minutes had passed since I took the empty rock photo but there was something there now. And it was flat and had a pointy nose.

That is indeed a Softshell. Now, I can't call it a lifer because it isn't native fauna but it is the first Spiny Softshell I have ever seen in the wild. (You can see the tubercules along the front edge of the carapace, thus my ID.)

This is the Painter that had me standing there for a whole two minutes, assuring my sighting.

That spot was hopping now! Add in a Painted Turtle.

And another!

Needless to say, mission accomplished. I felt bad seeing it without Andrea but now that I knew where it likes to hang out, I could get to it quickly on a subsequent visit.

After her work on Friday, at about 3 PM, we went over in hopes of her getting a chance to see the Softshell. Unfortunately, a resident Mute Swan had claimed the rock for itself. 

Oh well... we'll try again this summer. Hopefully, all of the turtles in the pond will be happy and healthy until we see them again.

Two Green Frogs and Two First-of-Years. August 1st and 2nd, 2026

One long trip, one short trip for the weekend, which was supposed to be rain-free and sunny. We'd had a deluge of rain on the Thursday before the weekend so things wouldn't be too dry. I made the executive decision to head into Middlesex County to have another try at Wood Turtles. I'd hoped to check out a supposed snake spot near it as well but we just didn't get in gear in enough time, so we headed straight to the Wood spot. If you can call it that. We hadn't actually seen one there (or anywhere else in Massachusetts) since September of 2020. In fact, our last sighting was on a trip to Pennsylvania in May of 2021! To say we were overdue is an understatement.

So, we got there at about 8:30 AM and noted that the river was pretty deep and churning thanks to the recent rain. After about 5 feet from the shore, all visibility was gone. The next spot was a bit better, but we saw nothing. So, we hit the trails to look around for snakes or any Woods that might have been on land. In a vernal pool that had water again (it was dry on our visit last month), a small Green Frog was bathing.

But that was it for quite some time. We explored a few new trails and off-trails but didn't see anything. Also, in the wooded areas, it was 259% humidity and in the sun, it was boiling. We started to realize that our chances here were looking pretty slim. We headed back towards the car, intent on heading out to another spot on the same river system. I went down to peek into the river again while Andrea rested. I stood there watching the water, the tiny whirlpools that formed in the current, and just enjoying nature when I saw a white rectangle move under the water. It caught my eye and then I noticed it was on a turtle. A Wood! 

Evidently, it is tagged. We watched it for quite a while, standing there sweating and hoping to find an angle where I could get a better shot. The above is as good as I could get and it was going to have to suffice. I was tempted to jump in after it (mostly because I was so hot!) but that just isn't me, and it would have skittered off anyway.

A small Green Frog jumped in front of me while I was watching the unmoving turtle!

Patience is a virtue and while we were watching it, it came up for air. Hmm... I hadn't thought about that!

It stayed there clutching the log for quite a while, it's butt swaying in the current. We knew we were having a huge amount of good fortune. Boy did it feel good to see a Wood Turtle again!

It was about ten or fifteen feet away from us but we didn't seem to be bothering it. It did look over at us a few times, though.

Well, you can't beat that. Our first Massachusetts Wood in 5 1/2 years. (We hadn't looked for them every year, but we did try a number of times during that stretch.) We got to the car, cranked the AC and drove for a while to another spot. Andrea wasn't handling the heat as well as I was, so she stayed put while I took a short hike down to the river. The river is far below in many spots here and with no decent way to descend (decent descent?), I had to pass it by.

I did make it down to the water's edge in one spot but everything that looked like a turtle or frog... wasn't. I headed back and got lost in the woods for about 20 minutes, getting back to the car red-faced, sweaty and tired. That was the day for us. We hit a few antique stores on the way home.

That one was our "far" ride, though it didn't eat up a ton of gas. But I still had to keep it nearby for Sunday. It dawned on me that we hadn't visited the Boston Lizard spot for a few years. Our last encounter with Massachusetts' only lizards, the Italian Wall Lizard, was in May, 2023. We were overdue and, frankly, curious to see how (if?) the lizards survived this past rough Winter. We slept in, knowing that our targets love it hot, so we let the sun come up and stay up.

These squamates are found only in one small spot and it's right there in Boston. They're in a garden area but getting to the spot isn't my kind of nature walk. Parking is horrible in Boston and we had to walk seven or eight blocks until we got near their domain. It was unpleasant.

But once we got there, it became very beautiful. Flowers, plants, gardens... and lizards. We saw quite a few darting through the compost piles. I was reminded how tough it was to photograph them. Finally, I got proof of their existence.

Getting deeper into the garden area, we started to see them on rocks. All sizes, including very small ones. Obviously, breeding new generations hasn't been a problem. Nor was last Winter.

The gardens are home to many bugs as well. This gaggle of Red Aphids is munching on a stem as the stem cries out for some Ladybug help.

But yeah... lizards. Lots and lots of lizards. We talked to a few people who had gardens there and they are all happy with them, eating bugs and such, and one guy even said when he steps in, they come out to look him over. "Whatchoo doin' in my garden?"

It was another pretty hot day. How hot? Hot enough to make a bunny lay down like this.

Here's a tiny guy... probably born last year. All noggin. I suspect those mulch piles are the nesting spots as well as the hibernation sites.

Last photo of the weekend... a Tiger Bee Fly.

So there's our weekend. No snakes but a nice reacquaintance with two species that it had been too long since we'd last seen. And two Green Frogs. And I hit Monday with over a quarter tank of gas. Yee Haw!