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!
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.)
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.
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