What Are We Gonna Do Now? April 24th and 25th, 2025

My declaration that "we will not visit the dens at lunchtime anymore" sounded good on paper. I mean, it has become like shooting fish in a barrel. I usually say "no more local dens" this time of year. But if not the dens, where else can we go to, look around, and get back home all within (roughly) an hour? Thursday the 24th was another beautiful day and we just had to go out at lunch. We hadn't yet visited our local Snappers at the cemetery down the street this year, so that was our plan.

We're used to the Snappers there being very outgoing and they always come up to see us. Not so this time. I think they might have had other (sexy) things on their minds. We did see one (not Whitey) who promptly sway away from us.

Painted Turtles could be seen basking.

This was a popular spot. A Double-crested Cormorant (#44) was drying out but the turtles, Painters and Red-ears were creeping in. These were our first Red-ears on the year. Yes, I count them. They live here: lots of them and for a long time.

Eventually, the turtles took over.

We did see one more Snapper who ignored us. Also not Whitey.

The next day was almost as nice. Why not try the closed school that we'd first visited last year, home of many large Water Snakes? We'd only have about 15 minutes to poke around but that should be enough.

We walked the plank and out onto the island where a decent sized female Nerodia was resting with something in her belly. As I tried to maneuver myself for optimum photo angle, she took off like a flash, speedily side-winding into the water. I was left with just a head shot.

There were plenty of places to bask and the local Painters were taking advantage of that fact.

I'd commented that I was disappointed that we'd seen no frogs. It wasn't until I got home and uploaded the photos that I discovered that the knot on this log next to the Painted Turtle was, in fact, a large Bullfrog!

Gettin' old, all right. The frog's expression slays me.

We'd heard a few Blue Jays and this one (#45) was making a call neither of us recognised.

Our time was up. In the bushes on the way back to the car, this large (easily 3 feet) mama Water Snake was sunning. She was pretty mellow; she even let me remove a piece of garbage that was under her tail. (This place needs a good cleaning).

I'll leave with a close up of this perfect specimen.

Hmm... I wonder where else we can go on lunch breaks.

Holiday Hikes. April 20th and 21st.

Easter Sunday. It was cool but sunny. We had plans to go make lunch for Andrea's mum but we also wanted to take a walk and see if anything was around. We chucked the mac and cheese into the car and hid it while we hiked at a nearby Norfolk County park for a few miles. Priorities, y'know.

Fairly quickly, a flip revealed a pair of Redbacks, one of them a Leadback! But look at that... so much going on under that brick. Woodlice, grubs... lots of cool things. There was actually a gold-top Redback that I didn't even see before it scooted off.


We didn't see much after that, but we enjoyed the walk. And then Andrea struck. I have no idea how she does it but she found an overwintered hatchling Painted Turtle on the grassy path along the train-tracks. (Formerly Racer Alley)

And then another...

She put it near the water after making sure no Bullfrogs were about.

And then another! Damn, she's good!

I finally contributed with a small Water Snake.

That was a decent 3-mile walk. We made it to Andrea's mum in time to make a good lunch and eat some chow. Well done us!

The next day was Patriot's Day in Massachusetts. They run the Boston Marathon that day and Andrea took it off. We were unsure if we had the stamina to go out again but we eventually decided what the hey... let's go out to Middlesex County and see if we can spy a Blandings. We'd not seen one on our last time out there and knew they were up by now... a friend had seen some.

We got out there by 10:30 and it was cloudy but in the low 60s. It seemed like it would be OK. We were greeted by some Bullfrogs, something we'd been hoping for all weekend.

An intrepid Painter was basking. The sun looked as though it was making an effort to come out despite the forecast. Maybe this turtle knew something we didn't.

I flipped a log that split on me, upsetting a Redback. My only course of action was to pose him on the split and apologise.

Our first Red Squirrel on the year.

I wasn't sure if any Blandings would still be left in their overwintering spot but I walked the hill next to it anyway. I was rewarded with our first glimpse of one this year on the top of the incline. It was already in its shell (probably heard my "stealthy" approach) and pulled in ever further when I reached her. So, this is all I could get, despite waiting nearby for 10 minutes.

Still, target achieved! Now to look for more critters!

This double Redback photo is as-flipped. They were yinging and yanging!

The sun was indeed coming out and Painted Turtles were stacking up on many (distant) basking spots.

I think there are 21 here. ^

The Beavers really keep this place how they want it. In years of drought, they keep pools going and they're always at work.

I see this next shot as the ultimate "You don't KNOW me!"

Here's a Painter who has no interest in chorus lines.

A couple more Bullfrogs!

Our first and only Garter Snake of the weekend. Scared the shit out of me when he took off, he'd been unseen next to my foot.

Andrea pointed out the massively plump Bullfrog on shore and right under it, our First of Year Green Frog! Finally!

This is a perfect photo of a young Painted Turtle. Except for the stink-eye he's giving me.

Andrea took a rest while I cut through some woods to try to spy on a pond that we could see through the trees. Luckily, leaves haven't started to come in yet so I could proceed slowly and keep an eye out. About 50 yards from the water, I saw some shell-shine and shot my lens way out, searching. There was a bunch of Painters and a bigger shell out there which turned out to be a Blandings. This is the best I could do from that distance, through the trees.

Ah, well. At least I can tell what it is. All turtles were long gone by the time I got any closer. I never even heard a splash.

My last sighting is my favorite... a wife in her favorite habitat.

Not a bad weekend. We added 4 more First-of-Years and got plenty of exercise and fresh air. Knowing we wouldn't be able to get out the following weekend (prior commitment), we're glad we put the effort in. But maybe a few lunchtimes will happen during the week. Who knows? (I do. We did get out twice and saw stuff. The post will be forthcoming.)

An Honest to Goodness Nature Walk. April 19th, 2025

It was supposed to be in the 70s and sunny on a Saturday! Be still my heart!! Where to go? We had to see some turtles so Andrea chose a place in Plymouth County for our first real nature walk of the year. Out of shape as we are, we knew that the 6+ miles would be tough but we were (more or less) mentally equipped for the task.

We got there at roughly 10:30 and hit the woods first in hopes of seeing our one off-Cape Box Turtle pal. We did not see him but were surprised by a large female Water Snake resting on a log.

We'd never seen one down in the woods before.

A small Redback was also a woodland dweller.

This place is festering with Spotted Turtles. Being a warm morning, we knew that they'd be quick, but they were lightning. I failed to get shots of a dozen before I finally got lucky.

Painters were also plentiful and I finally got the lens on their magnificence.

Osprey trail was exciting, as always, with both parents yelling at us from above. Here's my #40 Bird, an angry Osprey.

Some more Painted glory.

Speaking of glory, check out the Painter on the left's shell. This individual suffered some severe shell trauma and now it looks like it is fully healed. Amazing animals.

A mixed stack. Three Spotteds and a Painter.

Here's another interesting Painted Turtle. The top guy (and maybe even the lower one) has a black plastron! I've seen yellow, red, orange and even a darker maroon but never black. Very cool turtle.

Tree Swallows (#42) are back and they were all over the place!

We finally reached the big pond and we were eager to have a sit-down at the picnic table there. It was occupied, though, so I went to check out a concrete slab where we'd seen fleeting glimpses of Racers before. No Racer, but a neatly folded Water Snake was snoozing there.

After the picnic table was free, we sat for a while but I kept my eyes on the water. Most basking spots were under water but a distant spot revealed a full house of Painters.

We shared the picnic table with a Bold Jumping Spider.

It took some effort but I finally spied a distant Red-bellied Cooter catching some rays. Our First of the Year.

Back on the main path, I saw a turtle crossing about 20 yards ahead. I ran for it so Andrea could see it. It's always interesting to see a wild turtle up close, though I don't think this Painter agrees.

Andrea spied another one up on land, ready to cross the path.

Well, I had to run again and I barely made it in time but I procured our FOY Ribbon Snake for a few in-hand photos. I got savagely bitten for my efforts. Oh, the pain!

I'd been photographing Great Egrets all day and getting shitty shots. Finally, this one stayed put so I could get a nice photo for #43 on the year.

Yet another Painter looking to cross the path.

We were passing what I called a "muddy and murky" part of a bog. No sooner had Andrea said "that's what Snappers like" then I saw a shell in it, then a head protruded. It took a while to find it in my camera but I managed to get off one photo before he submerged.

Gravity defying Painted glory.

After a short rest, we got up to move on out and I was made to run for a third time. Back on the path we'd just been on, a Snapper was starting to cross.

This shot was far easier than the other Snapper shot.

We were toast but still had a half mile to go. There are plenty of rocks to flip near the end, too. Achy tho my old-man bones were, I flipped a few. I was rewarded with a Spurred Secretive Wolf Spider for our last critter of the day. A good sized spider right there.

So, now that we've started walking in different spots, it's time to start deeming the local dens off-limits. Thursday lunch-breaks won't be the same. But it felt good to get in over 7 miles of hiking and get some sunburn to boot. Seven species of reptile and amphibian. (Where were all of the frogs?! We heard a few Greens call but they remain unseen thus far in 2025!) Overall, a pretty good day, I should think.