October 2020... in the books. 10-24-2020

 Sunny but chilly and we had little time. We had to go bury the 2 dead hatchlings and dud egg that had been in our freezer since we had the Snaplings in house, so what better place to go than where we found them?

We got to our Norfolk County spot and headed straight to a pile of rocks that were getting optimum sun. On the way to the rocks, we got our first animal photographed... a speedy Redback.

We carefully perused the rockpile for a while and found no animals or Dave Edmunds but while I was on my hands and knees, I saw a design in the grass...

I don't know if we startled him out of the pile or if he was out there sunning, but this wee shoestring Garter was a very welcome sight.

Already happy, we moved into the wooded trail towards where we'd found the Snaplings back on August 16th. There wasn't a lot to see along the way, cool as it was. We finally saw another Redback when we reached the Alley.

Ah, carpets. This lasso of a Garter was coiled up relaxing under some carpet.

Andrea got this proof of a beautiful, bright Garter along the Alley path but it was far too smart for us to get a proper portrait.

We buried the turtles that didn't make it right in the nest they came from. They are with the spirits of their nestmates who never had a chance. From there, we walked down to the river and looked across at where we released the nine healthy Snaplings back in September. The water has filled in a lot since then, thanks to a lot of rain. It looks pretty good. They're back in those reeds somewhere.

My last photo... a gorgeous pink-head perusing the muck, seeing if any frogs are about. They weren't.

As I write this on October 30th, there is a damn blizzard blowing outside. I call 2020 officially over, except for den visits and Sea Turtle Patrol.

Speaking of which, the reason we had to be home early was for a virtual Sea Turtle meeting. We are signed up for our 6th year of Sea Turtle Rescue. Not sure what the season will bring, but it's going to start very soon.

Grasping at Straws. 10-17-2020

 A bonus hike, albeit a short one. Andrea got back from some family business (she's in the Mafia) and we had a couple of hours of sunlight left. It was in the low 50s, but the sun was out, so we went to see if snakes are back at their local dens.

First sighting was a Redback, as often happens!

We checked out the Valley and saw nothing. The Cottonwoods, however, had a Garter crawling around outside.

Another Redback. We saw many.

The Rock Wall Dens skunked us... until we saw a little rock out by the trail in front of the den-site... a super secret triple shoestring Garter flip!

We spent some time trying to find fallen leaves that were the color of Andrea's hair. Close, but no cigar.

We ended this short hike with two super secret Redback flips.

But wait... there's more!!

Yesterday, Thursday October 22nd, Andrea found a wee DeKay's Snake on a lunchtime walk! YESSS!

Not much left for the season... turtle-training is tomorrow. We don't know how much beach-walking we'll be doing, but we're going to do it again.

How Dry I Am. 10-11-2020

 Snakes. We wanted to see snakes. It was only going to scrape 60° but it would be a little bit sunny, so we trekked deep into Worcester County where we'd previously had a 31 snake day in October. Would our luck be as good as that today? No. No it wouldn't.

Upon arriving (to a pretty full parking lot) we noticed that water levels were super low. Like, the big pond where we usually see our first turtles and snakes was dry. Muddy at best. So, we headed to the vernals to see if anything there had water. No. None. But Andrea spied this Garter warming in the sun.

I went into the dried up vernal to flip some logs and was rewarded with a Redback.

Some other humans had just started down our usual path so we continued on the main trail to let them get ahead and out of our way. The decision was fortuitous because we saw two more species of salamander by going that way... a young Spotted and the first 4-Toed we'd seen in months.

Back on our usual route, things were a little distressing. This place is usually turtle-heaven but with the drought, water is at a premium. This is a shot from where we can usually see dozens of Painted Turtles. The water on the right is what is left of that pond... a mere puddle.

Further up the trail, we finally got what we'd come for... a couple more Garter Snakes. These two photos show the range of Garter personalities... the top is a proud, majestic creature, the bottom is all like "duuurrrrr".

They were on a Beaver den that had become a snake house. The Beavers had made themselves some new digs. They also had been hard at work, building dams to keep the puddles full on one side of the trail. Impressive handiwork.

It is thanks to the Beavers that we got to see any frogs at all. Dozens of little Green Frog noggins were poking out from the puddles.

This Bull gave us some entertainment. Just after I snapped this photo, he took a leap of about a foot, landing in a face-plant with his feet wiggling in the air for a second. He had lunged for a snack and apparently got it. Lip-smacking ensued.

One last photo... a pretty Green Frog that bid us adieu.

So, not exactly 312 snakes and zero turtles! But it was still a rewarding day and perhaps the last hike we'll have for a while. We'll take what we can get.

Mercifully, it rained pretty hard the other day. Hopefully, some of that mud became water and the cracked dirt became mud.

Last Call for Hogs and Redbells! 10-10-2020

 We didn't get a chance to hike on the first weekend of October due to a band obligation (hey, no worries... we had a blast) and we'd missed some great weather. But the following weekend was going to be OK. It better be- the week was full of shitty weather. We know there's not many more good days so we once again packed up and headed to Plymouth County for a shot at Hognose Snakes and Redbellies.

It was warm, yes, but the wind was pretty heavy and that cooled things off quite a bit. Plus, the area has been in a drought for some time and things were very dry. But that didn't stop us from seeing lots of Redbacks. Here's a sample of the colors that were available... Red, a sandy Lead and a stunning Raspberry-Chocolate.

#9 on my Grasshopper Project... a Fork-tailed Katydid.

The vernal pool was the smallest we have seen it in two years but it still jutted into the path. There wasn't as much action as we sometimes see there but young Green Frogs are still calling it home. This lil fella still has a bit of tail.

Under a nearby log, another wee Green was surprised to see the sunlight.

Heading back to the car, we flipped a log and found this little Ringneck, our first in over a month. Definitely This Year's Model.

Sadly, that first stop has traditionally been our best Redbellied Snake spot and leaving it reduced our chances of seeing a 2020 specimen. But onward we went to the bogs.

As always, the bogs had some Bullfrogs for us. That second guy looked black to the naked eye.

Greens were also seen in the bog. No turtles this time, nor any Hognoses.

We went on to the next spot, realizing that we probably wouldn't score a Hog this year. There aren't many good days left and the next weekend would be lost for family obligations. But we went in and tried our luck. First up, I looked into the water and saw a grasshopper struggling... I stuck a stick in for him to grab on to and he actually righted himself and hopped underwater! He finally grabbed on and he is my #10 species for the 2020 project... a Lesser Pine Katydid.

Having hit double digits, I feel this project is less of a failure than it had been for so long.

Heading up the path, we flipped a log and got a twofer; a Spotted Salamander and a Redback. This teeny Spotted is the first one we've seen at this stop and I honestly thought it was a Leadback until I saw the massive noggin.

We were getting a bit tired but pushed on, hope springing eternal. Andrea spied this pretty Nursery Web Spider.

We trudged along and Andrea said "I wish someone would throw us a bone or something." We were talking about previous years' Hogs on this path and how we hoped for better luck next year. Then she said, "here's a bone..."

By George, she'd done it again. This small Hog is not this year's model but likely a yearling. She picked it up and got some hood but overall, the snake was pretty chill, mostly interested in crawling away.

I'm glad that even with gentle handling, he stayed pretty cool. I've seen the death feigning before and need not see it again. The stress that they must go through to reach that point can't be good for them.

So, mission half accomplished. We'll take it. On the way back to the car, we finally saw a Painted Turtle up basking.

One last stop before heading home... the reliable turtle pond. Sadly, none were up. The wind was just a bit too heavy for proper basking. But we poked around, hoping for a shoestring Garter or a Racer or something. I lifted up some tarp that is sticking out from the ground-cover that it holds in place and got a massive surprise...

13 or 14 Snaplings were tucked in for the Winter! This was an amazing way to learn that baby Snappers don't always hibernate in the water. We tucked them back in all snuggly-like and left them to their sleep.

Oh my fucking god, how cute!!!!!

The last sight for the day, and who knows... maybe the last Painter for the year... this acrobatic picta.

So, we probably won't get another shot at Redbellies, not to mention Timbers or Worm Snakes in 2020 so we end the year with having seen 11 of the 14 snake species in Massachusetts this year. Not bad, considering we never got to leave the state. Who knows what next year will bring? Incidentally, this makes 31 consecutive months of photographing a Massachusetts snake. Yes, as it gets colder, I will start making note of that again.

Finishing Up September. 9-27-2020

 We stayed close and went to our oldest, longtime favorite spot on a cool Sunday morning. The last time at this Norfolk County spot, we saw but one Garter Snake. Only. No turtles, frogs or salamanders. But that was a hot summer day, this was a cool early Autumn day.

The path going in was shaded and not as busy as we'd expected. There were other humans there but not loud, writhing throngs of them. Our first animal was this cozy looking Garter stretched out next to a log. His head was swaying as he looked for food.

Next up was an elusive Pickerel who hopped into the brush, trying to elude my camera. Gotcha, sucker!

We went for quite a while after that with no animal sightings. We were exploring the unused-in-2020 campground and finally flipped a feisty little Garter shoestring under a garbage can lid. Is this what the trophy herpers refer to as a garbage snake? Garbage Snake is angry!

I got all the way up to #8 on my 2020 Grasshopper Project when Andrea spotted this female Conehead (Neoconocephalus retusus). Check out that ovipositor, man!

We were leaving the campground when Andrea saw a little noggin back up under a root... the small American Toad was wisely staying away from our stepping feet.

We carried on for a while, checking under logs and keeping our eyes peeled, but went through another spell of no animals. Nearing the Hobo Camp, we flipped this small but bright Spotted Salamander.

The Hobo Camp was a bust but after getting back to the trail, we flipped a perfect Redback.

Our next flipped salamander was a pretty special one, a rare (in the state) Marbled, right off the path.

Our Cuadata Count increased when we next flipped a small Eft. We'd almost missed this little orange bugger.

Back to the pond, we poked around the water's edge for a while, looking for Nerodia and frogs. On a distant rock, our only turtle of the day was up practicing yoga... a smiling Painter.

Down on the beach, a wee shoestring Garter was showing me who is boss.

Under a dock, a tangle of Garters were up to shenanigans. There are likely three snakes showing here. I'm not sure what is what.

Pickerel on the edge of pond. My favorite Springsteen record.

This Pickerel was huge... just about as big as I've ever seen them. Notice how he makes my size 12s look smaller.

Walking back through the woods, this super-chill Garter was posing way too nicely.

Another Pickerel, this time in the wooded area.

We finished up the day, and thus the month, with a couple of Redbacks... a red and a leadback morph.

You never know what date the last sighting of certain species will be in a year. Some of these are likely the last 2020 sightings. Toads usually are quick to tuck themselves in for the winter (they're smart). As I write this (very late, I know), it is October 9th and we have seen zero reptiles or amphibians on the month. We hope to remedy that over the weekend, but until then, these are our last sightings.

But with this day and the day before (previous post), we saw 15 different species over that weekend. That ain't too bad, baby.