Post-Wedding Critters. 8-11-2019

I had to miss a couple of really good band gigs due to my stupid arm but the silver lining was that I got to go to Philly to attend my friends Bob and Julie's wedding. Their names pop up on this blog every now and then because we love spending time with them when we're in their neck of the woods, or when Bob comes up here to beach walk with us. It was an honor to be able to attend their big day.

So, the whole trip had us out of the house for 27 hours. We got up at the ass-crack of dawn to make our flight back to Boston and we were full-on toast upon getting home at 11 AM on Sunday. But it was really nice out so we took a deep breath and headed over to the decimated-but-seemingly-recovering spot in Norfolk County. It was about 80° and sunny so even if nothing was still up, it was a very nice day for a hike.

After seeing a bunch of guys riding around the sand pit on unicycles and big-wheel skateboards and shit, we got a bit nervous, but they were cool and said they look out for animals and stuff. We told them about hatchling turtles (that is a nesting spot) and they seemed responsible. Luckily, there were no squished toads under their ramp. Andrea later startled one up on the Alley, though.

This all-American chirped his disapproval at being disturbed. She released him right away.

We walked the whole alley just because. We didn't see anything until heading back from the river when this Leopard Frog hopped into the grassy path.

This is pretty significant. Until this year, we'd only ever seen one Leopard here and that was before the demolition by the train company and Eversource. This is the second we've seen on the Alley this year. I also saw a small Painted Turtle basking on a stick in the wetlands. He wasn't big enough to have been born before the decimation so signs of recovery continue to make me happy.

Beautiful invasive species... the Purple Loosestrife, not Andrea. She's a beautiful native species.


We walked on for a while and I saw a Garter slither across the boardwalk and slip in between the planks, evading my camera for good. Oh well. Not long after, Andrea spied this pretty one sleeping off a meal.


We didn't know if we'd have enough gas to go all the way to our usual turn-around spot but we kept pushing and made it. We hadn't been up this far this year, maybe not last year either. My old board-line is gone but some old rotted wood that is well off trail is still there. We peeked under the moist planks and Andrea saw this. (My line of vision didn't see it at first.)

He needs a shed (and he's in the right place to get ready for it) but he'll be a screamer with a new suit of clothes!


That totally justified going that extra length, then we headed back. I was admittedly fatigued but we'd seen some animals and got some Vitamin D and exercise, so everything was good. Back on the Alley, we saw another Leopard Frog enjoying a bath in a puddle.

These frog sightings on the Alley are a very good sign. We'd seen zero frogs in the past few years on the Alley, not since the habitat was destroyed. I still would love to see Racers make a return here and I await the return of our fossorials, DeKay's and Ringnecks.

That said, my friend Ryan did see a Ringneck on the Alley the day before we were there. That is huge news. The recovery continues. As for my own recovery, it too continues, but it's not nearly as important as this habitat.