Another New Spot 7-12-2026

It was time to recon another new (to us) spot that isn't too far away in these days of high gas prices. I researched a place about 40 minutes away that is kind of close to a favorite park that we always do well at. We got to this one (in Norfolk County) just as it opened at 9 AM. The sounds of Purple Martins filled our ears and I started taking long distance photos as they are still a "need-it". All of the photos were crap.

We went in and started along the shady trails. It was very interesting because the water and duckweed came right up to the trail. It made it feel very Evergladesey. Much to our delight, we could see a Water Snake through the brush.

There's the noggin!

We got out to a boardwalk, clearly the real draw of this place. Some Painted Turtles were up basking.

We saw this Snapper at the surface, foraging for snacks. We watched it for quite some time, chomping lily pads and skimming the surface. A pretty big turtle, that one.

Not far away was this smaller specimen who made itself known by snapping at something. This made for double the pleasure and we watched these two for a good twenty minutes.

A guy came by and said he saw a massive Snapper further out. We pointed out our big guy and he said "oh, mine is twice that size." Always one-upping. What is it with people? We moved on before he started talking about his nether-regions.

Andrea found a gorgeous Garter Snake who either just had a snack or has little ones in her belly.

We got back onto the trail and enjoyed a lovely walk. We sat on a bench overlooking the pond with a gaggle of Canada Geese right behind us, preening. I looked out and saw a dark strip in the water, zoomed out and got this shot.

It appears to be 27 Painted Turtles, my personal best on the year so far.

Another gathering of picta.

As wonderful as the whole hiking area was, that boardwalk was the best and we went back. This solo Painter greeted us.

We went back to where Andrea had seen the Garter earlier and she'd been joined by a smaller guy, also with something in its belly though definitely not babies. They made a "T".

With my ears always open, I heard someone say the S-word... they had a Snapper nearby. We went over to look and there was an absolute monolith of a Snapper there. It looked to be twice the size of our earlier big guy. Perhaps braggart-man had been telling the truth! This is the best shot I got but it might have been the largest Snapping Turtle I've ever seen.

This much smaller one was foraging.

This little Painter had a nice sunny spot to itself.

We finally moved on and went through a sunny field filled with flowers. There was a large patch of Black-eyed Susans peppered with Daisy fleabane.

After a short rest, we went across the street where more trails went around another pond. Unfortunately, it wasn't as critter-filled as the other side. This solo Painter is the only animal shot I got in over two miles of hiking.

This fungus (either Cerrena unicolor or Trichaptum biforme, thank you Jef for the suggestion of the latter) looked very cool covering a tree stump.

Back to the parking lot, ready to leave, I finally got my shot of #68, Purple Martins. Lots of 'em.

So, it's safe to say that Andrea has a new favorite spot, Snapper-happy as she is. We'll certainly be heading back to this place before too long. It feels good to say two for two on new nature-walk places this month!

Tiny Consolations. 7-11-2026

After another few days of 90°+ days, the weekend was supposed to cool off and stay in the 80s. We decided to waste a Saturday and head to Plymouth County and continue our search for a "used to be easy" Hognose Snake. They have been so tough for us of late... ever since I said aloud a few years ago, "You know, they're pretty easy to find." I'm a tool. So why not go to place where we often fail altogether to look for a snake that we rarely see these days in a month notoriously bad for snakes! What could possibly go wrong? We got there a little after 8 AM.

Well, spoiler alert: in over six miles of hiking, we came up snakeless. But it's not all dire news. First off, the bog was full of charming Bullfrogs, all posing as if I was a real nature photographer.

The biting flies were buzzing me like mad but I carried on. They didn't seem to swarm Andrea like they did me. The bog had one beautiful surprise for us.. a very blue Green Frog hopped and alerted us. I took a dozen pictures but never really captured it's color. This is the closest I got, with the light setting set lower than usual. Gorgeous. Blue lips... must have been cold.

Some good news... TINY TOADS!! Andrea spotted them and we started to see quite a few. All toads have been tougher to see here and this is a good sign. This guy is probably a Fowler's.

A big, fat Green and another Bull closed out this spot.

The next stop in this park was historically our best Hog path but it turned up goose eggs this time, again. BUT, down by the (slightly refreshed from rain) low-water pond, Andrea noticed that there was a ton of sundews! Spatulate-leaved Sundew, to be exact.

It's always nice to see carnivorous plants! It made me wonder if they could catch a tiny toad, because they were present here as well.

We went through a field to get to another good path and saw a lot of Yellow Wild Indigo.

I'm diggin' the plants this year.

More tinies were seen as we went up the hill. It's hard to tell for certain because the tinies aren't fully formed yet but this guy appeared to be an American Toad as his belly was very speckled.

Another probable American climbed this log just as I was about to peek under the bark!

Lowbush Blueberries are starting to ripen and we snacked on them as we found ones that were ready.

We lamented about the diminishing toad populations last time we were here and were very happy to see these two gorgeous non-tiny Fowler's hopping off the path as we approached. Some much-needed good news.

We tried to find another path to check out, couldn't find it and headed over to the station in hope of seeing some turtles. I'd missed two Painters at the bog stop and needed some revenge. Some  boaters had just launched and scared everything in so we figured we'd come back later. But lo and behold, this bruiser of a Red-belly had been nonplussed as the boat went by.

It didn't take long until I got my Painted revenge when a large one climbed up for some sun.

We sat out on the peninsula for quite a while, just enjoying the breeze and watching the water. A Monarch Butterfly came by and was on some Purple loosestrife that was in front of us.

You can see his proboscis in this shot!

Not a good plant to have around, though it is pretty.

Last up, we watched a Phoebe gathering stuff to take to a nest filled with hungry yellow beaks and feathery tufts.

We tried to find another new spot for Recon but found it full of loud, sweaty humanity when we got there and decided to pass and leave. But, it was great to see some toads, old and new and of both local species this time around. We'll be back next month for another fruitless search for Hoggies. We just don't know when we've been licked. Or maybe we like being licked. Who knows.

Surfing on a Heat Wave. July 3rd and 5th, 2026

Heatwave! Over 90° and pushing 100° a couple of days! Well, Andrea had that Friday (the 3rd) off so we planned on getting out early before it got too hot. Even getting to our spot in Norfolk County (that I picked because we always sweat up a flood there anyway) a little after 8 AM, it was already over 90°. Whatever. Let's walk and see what we can see.

We hit the restrooms first. While I waited for Andrea, I went around the side of the building and saw a small Garter race under a board. I waited and we flipped over the board together and saw the little fella who looks like he's just had some breakfast. A worm perhaps?

We walked on but it was oppressively hot. There were no animals out. Besides the little Garter, that is, and I'm sure he was staying put under the cool board. Turtle spots were empty. Our secret shaded spots were empty. Finally, we saw one sturdy Painter up basking for a bit.

He was gone when we walked by less than an hour later.

So yeah, we gave it a try but inevitably decided that it was just too hot to see anything. Plus, the biting flies were relentless and I'd had enough. Two bites on my hands, right through bug spray, are still itching. All hail Sweet Fern which held them back for a while.

We saw an American Toad on the way back to the car, so we were pleased with that.

Except the Sweet Fern fell out of my hat when I scrambled to see the toad...

The 4th of July was too hot to go out. Lesson learned. The next day, Sunday the 5th, was supposed to be cooler so we made plans to visit a new (to us) place.

Due to gas prices, I've been hoping to find more nearby places to add to our rotation. I found a spot only about a half hour drive away (in Middlesex County) and made plans to visit on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, we slept in later than planned but still got there by late morning. It's an Audubon place so we got to skip the entrance fee, being members.

Right off the bat, the trail goes to a marshland habitat and Painted Turtles were everywhere! On the sightings board in the visitor's center, some kid had written "so many turtles" and within 15 minutes, I agreed with that count. Our first was a small fella.

Andrea spied our first Bullfrog of the weekend.

But it was Painted Turtles. They were all over; basking, swimming, foraging and eating.

There are a lot of cool plants there as well, as you'll soon see. Like Buttonbush, the Pinhead of the plant world.

At the end of the boardwalk, I got a glimpse of a small Water Snake. Most of one, anyway. It disappeared quickly and was the only snake seen that day.

Off trail, we got a good look out at the water and saw... more Painteds!!

Trail maps in hand, we headed away from the water on some paths that went along the side of some big fields. The trail was nicely shaded by overhanging trees so we got to enjoy the splendor of the open fields in relative coolness. (It was about 83° by now) My guess is that had we arrived sooner, we'd have seen a handful of Garters along this path.

We did see another Chipmunk (there were dozens) that stooped to strike a pose that I, once again, just couldn't resist.

What a camera whore!

Our maps were leading us toward a bridge that went over a brook that I was interested in seeing. Once we got there, guess what was up catching some rays...

The trail back stayed near the brook and, again, it looked super Gartery but we saw no more snakes. Wildflowers and plants were plentiful and beautiful along this path and I concentrated on those.

This is Daisy fleabane with a Syrphid fly on top.

Deptford pinks were plentiful.

There were dozens of fruitful Tatarium honeysuckle bushes.

Back to the boardwalk, we'd hoped to see some more Bullfrogs and Water Snakes. We got the former.

I missed it, but Andrea saw this guy make a giant leap into the air, legs flying, probably trying for some lunch. By the time I saw him, it was all "nothing to see here, folks".

I ended the hike with one last Painter photo. Among the hundreds we saw, this guys face sums up how much I enjoyed the day... with a smile.

It's good to know that this place is pretty close for days when that "I need to see some turtles" feeling strikes, which is quite often. Also, we heard birds singing for the entire time we were there, which was over four miles of hiking. We hope to check out more new-to-us place this summer and hopefully, we'll find more close-by walks that we'll enjoy.