September is Upon Us. Sept. 5th and 7th, 2026

September got off to an awful start when I noticed, while checking my bank account online, that someone had stolen half of my money. It was made even worse when, after freezing that account and opening a new one, the same asshole hit again and stole the rest. Oh well, difficult come, easy go. I got the second theft back, still working on the first one. Plus, my back was in a great deal of pain, but I toughened up and took Andrea out to a spot in Middlesex County on Saturday to look for hatchlings and turtles in general. This spot is GREAT for Painters plus you get the occasional Snapper and Blanding's.

We got there early enough and hit (well, I hobbled until my back got used to it) the trails. Andrea struck first with a bronzy Redback.

From then on, we only saw Painted Turtles. But we saw a lot of Painted Turtles. This was a sign to us that the season is ending and the turtles know it. They are stacking up in hopes of enjoying some good sun rays before having to get down into the mud and ass-breathe for the winter. Sad but true... it's getting colder these days. Enjoy these Painters enjoying the sun.

Damn!

Painters. I love them.

After that, I wanted to pull over to a dam-site where I've pulled back a tarp and seen Water Snakes before. We got there and the tarp was down and I lifted it... there WAS a Water Snake under it but she was far quicker than my camera abilities.

She disappeared into a hole as fast as lightning.

The next day, Sunday the 6th, we went over to Cutler Park in Norfolk County and hiked for about 3 miles but saw nothing to photograph. Poop.

Monday the 7th was Labor Day and Andrea wanted to check out a place in Bristol County and I was more than happy to take here there. I had enough gas in the tank to get there and back. We didn't hurry because the night was cool and it would take a while for things to get up. We got there at about 10:30 and the rocky garden was mostly in the shade still, dewy and cool. This Pickerel Frog greeted us.

The stones held a happy surprise for us...

A Milk! I can't believe it but it's only the third of 2026.

There were two massive, fat Pickerels hopping around. This guy was in the grass and I saw a shoestring Garter (one of our targets for the day) slither right next to him, tempting fate! Luckily, the Pickerel didn't notice him and hopped up to the stones for a wonderful pose.

This American Toad was also hopping through the garden.

My back was still iffy but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't roll back a log and see the darkest Leadback of the year!

At the river, Painters were starting to mobilize (immobilize?) in the sun.

We walked the trails slowly, stopping to sit and rest and watch the river ripple and the tree's leaves sway in the soft breeze. This is the part I'll miss the most in a couple of months. Back on the trail, we each found a Redback under logs.

We saw clumps of Pinesap, the Redbacks of parasitic plants.

At the waterfall, a Solitary Sandpiper was foraging and paying no attention to us.

Andrea had been searching for Snaplings all day. Whenever she saw a hole in the ground that looked like a possible nest exit-hole, she dug in to see if anyone needed a hand. This place is notorious for tons of Snapper egg predation but she did find a few nests along the way that had been successful so we kept a close watch on our step for the whole walk.

A little tributary from the dam river held the cutest surprise... a Snapling survivor! Andrea was, of course, overjoyed. As was I.

We hiked back towards the front and made a side trip to a stream that had some small frogs hopping away from us. I finally got a look at one... a tiny all-head Pickerel. This year's model.

Back in the woods, Andrea spotted another American Toad that looked black in the shadows. My flash revealed a dark chocolate brown. Gorgeous.

Ah, the old appliance graveyard. It used to be amazing, with old appliances, rugs, tarp, car doors... We'd seen Milks, Racers, Garters, DeKays, even a Spotted Turtle hatchling in there. But since they cleaned it, it has been barren. Still, a couple of tiles remain and I always go over to check them. I saw a skin in the tiles, which is a positive, and then a whole shoestring Garter, my main target on the day!

This little guy is going into the blue so that is evidently not his skin.

That was it for this place. The Milk was still in the garden on the way back but we didn't bother him. We decided to drive five more miles to a good spot in Plymouth County in hopes of Water Snake shoestrings or possibly more Snaplings.

We got there and saw a guy and a kid looking at our spots! My mind went to the worst place... they're looking for turtles to eat or something. The guy stopped and yelled to the kid and pointed at something. He'd seen a Water Snake. I was thinking "oh, yeah... he probably thinks it's a Moccasin... I'd better show him it's not". I reached in and grabbed the Water Snake and was promptly musked into oblivion.

It turns out that they guy was the youngster's father and the kid is studying reptiles for a career and they, just like us, always go out to see what they can see. The young man is very smart (and the Water Snake was very calm in his hands) and shows some good hope for the future. We compared spots (we hit a lot of the same areas) and notes and hopefully, we'll see them again some time soon.

So, it's good to know that not all humans suck. These guys were awesome and we have met a lot of cool folks out there this year. Hopefully, that is a trend that will continue into next year and beyond.

When all is said and done, despite a total strikeout on Sunday, it was a pretty good weekend.

Ending August! Oh My! 8-28 and 29, 2026

Andrea's vacation was coming to an end on Friday, August 28th and we decided to make another attempt at seeing a Hognose Snake. We got up and out early and drove into Plymouth County before the weekend Cape traffic got too thick, arriving at our destination before 9 AM. It was super humid out but we forged ahead, walking around the bog area first. Naturally, Bullfrogs were plentiful. It's been a darn good year for them.

Under a board next to the bog, a pair of small but plump Fowler's Toads were snoozing.

But it was a Bullfrog day first and foremost.

Every one is a beauty!

An Orange-striped Oakworm was tooling through the sand.

While walking the bogs, a couple of small Painted Turtles had evaded my camera. I caught this guy on film through the trees and I wouldn't have kept this shitty photo except it was the only one I got a shot of all day!

Back to the bogs... and Bullfrogs.

Andrea was absolute toast after that portion of the hike so I decided to let her rest in the car with the AC on while I went to a powerline cut that we'd stopped looking at last year. I did 15 minutes of flipping debris but nothing was present. Then it was on to what had been our best Hog path in the past. But it hasn't done a thing for us for a few years now. This day, it was only good for a few Fowler's Toad sightings.

I wanted to check out another path that branches off of that one so Andrea sat on the ground while I went up to look. Admittedly, I was pretty distracted by now and didn't look as closely as I might have had we been together. The only interesting sight was a Robber Fly munching on a beetle for lunch.

I got back to Andrea and we walked out to the car together. From the path, we could see a Great Blue Heron wondering why the water level was so damn low.

I drove over to the visitor's center to look at the pond where Painters and Red-bellied Cooters are always hanging out. Andrea again stayed in the car. There were no turtles up. I looked where a gravid Milk Snake was crawling around a couple of months ago but no babies were about. I flipped a rock and ended the day with a last Fowler's.

So, it wasn't exactly a boffo day. The Bullfrogs and toads are great but I really missed the turtles and it just wasn't as fun with Andrea feeling so under the weather. We'll try again later in September for Hogs there but it looks like we might miss the species again for 2026.

The next day, we slept in with no plans for the day. At about 11 AM, Andrea decided we should go look for turtle hatchlings at the pond where the Softshell has been. We got there and took the long route, hoping to stumble on something. We didn't. We got to the Softshell rock (which was empty upon our arrival) and a couple of Painted Turtles had climbed up. There was a distant one on a stick behind them, too.

I said to Andrea that the trouble with this walk is that you don't see much if a few turtles aren't up. But then, about 20 feet further up the path, a large Water Snake was catching some rays. Might she still be with-childsnake? Seems late!

We decided that we wanted to see more critters so we got into the car and went to a spot about 7 miles away that we'd enjoyed earlier in the year, staying close to home for gas-price-reasons.

Species wise, we saw just a few. But for fans of Painted Turtles, which we definitely are, this is mecca!

What I believe to be an Autumn Meadowhawk landed on Andrea's hat and buzzed next to her ear.

A Bullfrog hopped on to log-space vacated by a Painter. Soon, it dramatically hopped off and skidded across the lilypads when a turtle came back up.

Painted Turtles are beautiful. I love seeing them. Other reptile enthusiasts would too, if they weren't so common but damn... except for dirty shells, all of these guys are stunning! Even the shy one!

And the molting one!

And the sneaky one!

Fabulous!

Much to our surprise and delight, a large Water Snake was crawling through a shallow part. Too fast for my camera, it seems, since I cut off her head here. There was a little girl with her family watching it, saying "I love snakes." I told her mom that that's a good kid.

We ended the day on... Painted Turtles.

Yes, he is judging you.

So two days worth of common stuff, but we're always happy to see anything. Standing on the boardwalk, leaning on a railing and looking at dozens of turtles is a good way to spend a few hours and we never take it for granted. 

I'd have to say that I enjoyed Andrea's vacation very much. I hope she did.