Ending October... 10-30-2022

 I slept way too late and we almost missed our short window, but it was in the low 60s and sunny so we decided to go check our local dens to see if the snakes were back for the Winter. We got there a bit before 2 PM and knew we only had an hour or so.

The recent rains made us think about salamanders, too. It wasn't long before we were finding Redbacks.

A four pack of varying colors!

This has got to be right up there as the most beautiful Leadback I've ever seen. Gold flecks down the back, spotted sides and legs... just a stunner.

The dens were quiet because we'd arrived a bit too late. The sun wasn't hitting just right. Still, I managed to startle a small and beautiful Garter who posed for a moment before taking off.

We went for a while without seeing anything. We checked dens and flipped logs. I was still holding out hope for a Blue-spotted Salamander, a species we usually have good luck with but had come up short this (horrible) year.

I was flipping stones in a section where we've seen plenty of salamanders in the past, but we saw nothing. I was stepping towards another rock when I had to twist myself and sidestep rapidly... I almost stepped on this Garter that was laying there!

I picked it up to make sure it was OK. It was cold, but warmed up rapidly. She musked me, slid to the ground and flattened out and started striking. Feisty feisty feisty! We watched her as she went on her way, slithering under a rock.

Before leaving that area, I flipped a 6-pack of Redbacks with some worms on the side. I told you this was a good salamander spot.

We walked back to the car via the cemetery road. We'd hoped we would see the Racer in her box again, but all of that had been moved. I flipped a few rocks along the way. One rock gave us our First of Year Blue-spotted!

It's about time! We usually get these guys in March!

That's a pretty decent way to end October.

October, Part 2. The 15th, 16th, 21st and 22nd.

Let's see... Saturday the 15th... ummm... not super nice out but it was OK. We got to our spot in Bristil County around noonish and it really hadn't warmed up much yet. Our short window kept us on a rapid pace.

First sight, as it often is, was a Redback! Those are not Redback eggs, rather they're slug eggs.

Turtles were going to be tough as the river was quite high. Many of the basking spots were underwater. These guys were on the other side of the river. Best I could do, dammit!

We heard the joyous squeals of a cute young teenage couple. They had just gotten to a puddle with frogs in it. They swore there was a "big one" under the leaves. This Green was up and ready for a shot. I thanked the duo profusely.

Some more distant Painters enjoying the Autumn sun.

Here's another nice Redback, contrasted by a light pink worm.

We got to a car hood that was sitting in the sun for a while. It has been the site of many great flips. This time, nothing... wait! A wee shoestring Garter fell from it and took off. I barely got proof before he'd disappeared!

We were headed back to the car. Our mission after the hike was to check out a local (to the area) horror convention. One last flip before we got to the car got us this gorgeous DeKay's, our first in quite a while. In fact, our first since the 4th of July!

Not a bad day. The show was pretty good... needs to grow a bit but we had fun for an hour or so.

The next day, Saturday the 15th, was supposed to be the best day of the week. We decided to make one last try for Hogs at our spot in Plymouth County. 70° and sunny; it was our best bet.

Driving in, we saw a woman off her bike. We stopped, thinking she'd fallen but no... she was making sure this male Painted Turtle got out of the road OK. He was probably looking for an acceptable place to spend the Winter.

We went in a different pattern than usual, foregoing the power-line cut and heading straight to the bogs. Some Bullfrogs greeted us, which is nice because last time out, we went frogless at these bogs.

We flipped a stunning Leadback.

Bully for me!

We were walking along and Andrea said, "What's that?" There was a Flying Squirrel (Southern?) on the edge of the path foraging. He didn't seem too worried about us. Me, being the fine cameraman that I am, turned my camera off because I forgot I'd had it on. I finally got ready as he was heading into the brush. Here's a Flying Squirrel butt.

That's a first for this blog.

Heading back, I saw a commotion on the edge of the bog. This young Green had just eaten a bug that was flying by.

From there, we went to the trails that have been the most successful in the past for us but have sucked hard this year. We saw nothing. No Hogs, no Toads, no nuthin'.

So, with great sadness and relief, we are done with this place for the year. Next year, we'll try new spots within the park. This year was a tough one there. We go Hogless for 2022. It's the first time in many years. Oh well.

Hey, why drive so far and spend so much money when nature is right in our dumpster right outside our house?! Two snoozy cuties.

The next week was going to be so-so. Friday the 21st, it barely scraped 60° but the sun was out so we took a hike around a fairly close place deep into Norfolk County. I was hoping for some salamanders. Right off the bat, we noticed that the water situation was far better than it had been last time we were there.

There were plenty of Painted Turtles up but they were all way out there in the distance.

Over by the waterfall (which, I'm happy to say, was spilling. Yay rain!), I saw something frog-shaped hop under the dam. I looked around and saw his pal, a cute Green Frog, enjoying a bath.

A through-the-trees shot of a closer Painter.

I decided to go off trail and follow the water after the waterfall. It has been a good spot in the past. I scared up a few frogs walking back there. They disappeared. Much to my surprise, there was a large Water Snake basking in the spotty sunlight back there. Score! I didn't think we'd see any snakes on this cool day.

Heading back out to the trail, I saw that some of the frogs had resurfaced. Here's a Pickerel.

And a small Bull.

Peering off the bridge, I saw this pretty Bull posing nicely in the Fall foliage.

Our next sight was a very welcome one. See, we've been striking out on a lot of species this year. Our FOYs dried up a while ago. It was with great pleasure that we flipped our first Four-toed Salamander of the year.

We usually get them early on but, this year sucking ass like it has, we didn't manage any until this day.

Not to be outdone, this Redback struck a dynamic pose!

Back into the unshaded sunlight, Andrea scared up a slim Garter. We watched him periscope and sway and then he swooshed off into the brush.

We continued around the various ponds, hoping to see more animals. Not much turned up. Some more distant Painters were seen, though.

Another really pretty Redback.

Back at the waterfall, I looked to see if our Green Frog pal was still there. He was and was joined by this very green-headed Green and a Six-spotted Fishing Spider.

(No, I didn't notice the spider until I uploaded the picture.)

It hasn't happened often this year, but we left thinking "that was a good hike"!

The next day, we went out to a spot in Middlesex County, solely based on the fact that we'd had 29 snakes there one October day a few years ago (with our son, Matt). Plus, there's always the possibility of seeing a Blanding's Turtle.

On our last trip there, back in April, the beavers had flooded the place within an inch of its life. All of the critters enjoyed that, but we had to take a different route to get in. This time, post-drought, it was sad. It was dry, with just a few puddled areas. Evidently, some work was done to combat the Beaver "problem" and some stone spillways have been laid in the path. Interesting. Even more interesting was this slim Garter making his way over the new concrete.

We went on, checking for anything that might be out. It was sunny and not too cool. Andrea hit the lottery for us next by pointing this guy out...

That there's a Ribbon Snake... only our second on this pathetic year.

The last one we saw was on April 2nd!!!! Damn, what a shitty year. This guy brought us a smile or two.

Not far from there, Andrea almost stepped on a large Water Snake, who slithered off quickly into the brush. No worries... we noticed a tail sticking out of the leaves not far away. Now, when you have a little bit of Water Snake tail sticking out, you never know what you're going to get. I reached for it, expecting to have a slashing, pissed off, massive Nerodia hand me my ass. Instead, I got the most mellow guy I've ever handled. 

I'm not much of one for posing snakes for shots but this guy was so pliable, I figured why not? I wanted to show off that belly.

From there, we walked toward the river to see if there were any turtles there. There weren't any, so we turned back. I found this all-head Pickerel on the way.

We'd scared some Painted Turtles into the drink on the way out but they were a bit more mellow on the way back. I finally got a shot. The water was much better in this area.

This male was crossing the path in front of us, likely heading to a winter spot.

Last but not least, Painter catching some rays. He'll be in the mud before too long, going without oxygen and doing amazing turtle hibernation feats. There is a second one behind him, thinking the same things!

So, that probably ends our October. We're signed up for Turtle Season on the Cape, so we're ready for Second Season. 2022 has been frustrating as hell, but looking back on the things we saw in this post, I have nothing to complain about. Not a bad month after all.

October Thus Far. Oct. 2, 7, 8, 9.

Catch as catch can. Not much time left to see things. On Sunday, October 2nd, we hit the local spot in hopes of seeing some salamanders, specifically Blue Spotteds. It was cold, it never hit 60° but the sun was warm. It seemed like a good time to check the den sites, too.

Our first encounter was a Red-Chocolate flip.

Our second sight was a wee, This Year's Model Ringneck. That was a surprise!

Even more surprising was this nicely folded Garter under a log.

He got quite feisty when we moved him to replace the log.

Lastly for that cold and windy day, Red-Lead flip.

We didn't get out again until the following Friday. It was going to be scraping 70° and sunny so we threw caution to the wind and hit our heartbreak spot in Plymouth County. Last Call for Hoggies!

Spoiler alert... we struck out on all snakes, even though it was plenty warm and sunny. We started out with a myriad of different colored Redbacks.

How can anyone not be impressed by the beauty and variation on these super-common guys? Those are slug eggs in the last shot, not Redback eggs.

We headed down to "our" vernal. It has swelled a bit more with the recent rains. This Bullfrog was enjoying the warm water of the edge.

This Painted tyke was grabbing as much October sun as he could get.

A Green Frog that I surprised with a flip.

A couple more Bulls from the vernal...

It has been an overall shitty year but it has, I must confess, been an excellent Bullfrog year!

On the way back to the car, we had to side-step this Chinese Mantis who was crossing the path.

There were dozens of Turbulent Phosphilas crawling around. Quite a beautiful 'pillar.

We hit the bogs next. Oddly enough, we saw no frogs in there. We didn't even hear any. The season is getting late... some might have tucked in  already. No frogs, no turtles, no snakes. Here is a picture of Andrea blazing a trail through the woods on an overgrown path.

We stopped at our usual sit-down spot. I peeled off some skin and threw it into the water. This Bluegill ate it. It now has the taste of human flesh. It is my first step in creating a human-eating sunfish.

From there, we took our usual route and did two miles of our best Hog trails. Nothing. Not even a toad. Day over. In fact, we called it... the last attempt. (As it turns out, it's supposed to be nice this upcoming weekend so we will make one more useless attempt.)

The next day, Saturday the 8th, it was cold again. Mid 50s. But we took a noon-time walk along a Norfolk County trail that gets a lot of sun. We hoped for a snake sighting or, even more so, a Northern Leopard Frog. Well, we saw none. At our turn-around point, we watched a couple of young Ospreys hunting. Here is one of them...

Heading back, Andrea asked if I wanted to look "on the other side of the tunnel"... I said no, it's too cold. It's not like we'd see anything in the woods. Then, I thought, well, maybe we can see a Redback, so we went through...

Just on the other side of the tunnel, in a patch of sun, we saw a skinny Garter swaying in the warmth. Andrea, once again, was right.

Can I get a close-up on that?

We went in a little more. We did get that Redback I'd thought about.

Sunday, the 9th... we hit up a spot in Middlesex County that used to be a stronghold for Leopard Frogs. We hadn't seen a frog there this year in any of our visits, Leopard or otherwise. We hoped for some better luck this time. It was another "warm in the sun" kind of day.

We were devastated by how dry the main wetland was. I know they control the water sometimes but there was just a swath of water going through the middle of this massive wetland. We wondered if everything had moved to the nearby river. When we got to the river, we saw that it was the case. Painters were up and basking.

I had just missed a Garter, who slowly made its way under a rock when I saw a lovely one basking in a nearby patch of sunlight.

As she slid off, she was followed by a bright yellow guy, flowing her closely.

Further on, I flipped a stone and had a brand-spankin' new baby Water Snake. Having learned my lesson, I got an in-hand shot before trying to get fancy.

Here it is, in all of its miniature glory!

This slim stick of a Garter is getting as much sun an squamately possible.

Holy shit! An Ostrich!

This GBH was absolutely massive. Nice hamhocks!

We got to our turn-around point, just wanted to check a path that goes between two ponds. Now, these ponds were full. Very full. I just can't figure out why the main wetlands was so... not wet. There was a Water Snake making its way through the brush over here.

I got a secret Painter basking. It was a through-the-trees shot that came out pretty OK.

Never had we seen these ponds so full. The water has pouring from one pond to the other, flooding the path.

I got soakers slogging through it, hoping to see something but I didn't, so we turned back.

We'd definitely had our lucky-window. The walk back was animal-free. And it brings up a major worry...

This used to be a Northern Leopard stronghold. We haven't seen one here in two years. No frogs at all this year at this (formerly) great spot. I know they have used chemicals to combat some invasive plants or algae or something. Let's hope they didn't devastate the entire Salientia group in the area.