We hit the bogs first and right away, we saw a small Painted Turtle and a Green Frog within a foot of each other. Nice way to start the day.
There were plenty of lilypads present, something that was missing on our last trip here (a month earlier). There were many blossoms as well, which made this small Painter feel special.
An even smaller Painted Turtle...
Green Frogs were plentiful. They were calling and they were pretty easy to see. That's great news because on that last visit, all frogs were tough to find.
We finally got to a vein of Bullfrogs.
Not a bad first stop. Of course, when we're in Plymouth County, we are invariably looking for trophy herps, too, and we still want our first Hognose on the year. Onward to the next spot.
It had gotten pretty sticky. Not super hot but extremely humid. The next stop is a mostly shaded set of trails that has the distinction of being a good Hog spot as well. We started off with a very pretty Fowler's Toad.
Being Tiny Season, we kept our orbs peeled for Tiny movement on the ground and saw a few. Tough to photograph, this is my only proof:
Another adult Fowler's:
We spent another couple of hours really examining the area closely but nary a snake was seen, Hognose or other. We packed up and went to the Visitor's Center where no turtles were up either. We was done shit outta luck. We made the decision to blow this place off until September in hopes of baby snakes being dumber (closer to our own intelligence) and perhaps easier to see.
The next day, we headed deep into Norfolk County to a lovely spot where we can usually see snakes, frogs and turtles. In other words, we won't walk for 3 or 4 miles with no photos taken. We got there late morning, parked free (old man tag!) and hit the restrooms (old man bladder). Once we got in gear, shivering in the heat because of the many humans in the parking lot, we went to a secret spot and saw a resting in-the-blue Garter. Last year's model, most likely.
So that's what snakes look like!! Who knew?
Not far from there was the smallest Pickerel Frog I have ever seen. I wish I'd have been able to slip a penny next to him but he wanted no part of that. It was an inch long, tops.
Here's a perfectly gorgeous Joan Jett Black Water Snake... just a stunner. Big gal, too.
I always get nervous for the vernal pools on hot summer days. This one still has plenty of water and is host to a multitude of tadpoles, Wood Frogs, I assume.
There were plenty of people present this day and that pretty much sucks but we stayed our course, avoiding them when we could. A fairly popular path had this outstanding Garter just out of the way in the bushes. It obviously has a hearty meal in the belly.
Out on the second leg, there are far less humans around. One of our more secretive spots was good for a Ringneck that was under a rock.
I was too slow to make a grab for it (to be fair, I am extremely gentle with such skinny snakes and I don't put a lot of force into my attempts) and Andrea didn't get a good look at it. Boo, me!
She found this plump normal-sized Pickerel next!
We hadn't yet seen a turtle despite the multitude of ponds so we "took the high road" and went on a higher path to overlook a pond we'd otherwise miss. Right at the beginning of the new trail, I got another Ringer under some bark. Andrea got a good look at this one.
This park has been good for Tinies in the past and it became pretty good near one of those hidden ponds. Two Tinies (likely American) hopped on either side of a log at the same time and ascended said log in unison. Cool sight, impossible to film. Here is one of them.
Later, we passed a kid and her mom in the path. The kid was sitting in a kayak. The mom happily chirped that her husband was looking for a place to launch. I asked the kid if she'd lost her water. She didn't laugh. I thought I was hilarious. Further up the path, the father walked by us. He had super offensive body odor wafting about him.
We walked through a field with a lot of milkweed but saw no Monarchs or their caterpillars. There were plenty of Milkweed Beetles, though.
We were on a path that is right next to a big pond. This was where we'd see some turtles. I could even see some shell-shine in the distance. Then, Stink-Boy's kayaks went right next to the basking spot before I could get there. Stinky Fuck.
We were consoled when Andrea found this gorgeous Green.
Heading back, we stopped to sit for a while at the waterfall that often has Water Snakes around it. It is also, unfortunately, a spot that humans and dogs frequent. As we sat, two women had their dog in the water but all three of them were behaving. From my poolside perch, I saw something sticking out of the water about 10 feet from them.
It's good to see a Nerodia who has adjusted to the traffic. He was under a rock except for about 6 inches of neck and head. There were some fish in the area and I did notice a small ruckus near where his head had been... and was now gone. I think it was enjoying an underwater lunch.
Guess who pulled up to the wall of the fall? Stink-Boy, with his kid in front of him. He stopped and stared at the two (blonde) women with the dog, barely blinking. For an uncomfortable length of time. Smelly and pervy. Andrea said later that one of the women yelled "Take a picture!" which makes me very happy. I hope his kid told his wife. Asswipe. Smelly Fuck.
So that's the weekend, the good, the bad and the smelly. We got sweaty and dirty but had fun, and still never stunk as bad as that piece of shit guy. I entered the work week (such as it was) with a sore back from flipping (and, more likely, the gardening I did with Andrea on the Friday before) and some weary muscles. Just the way I like it. Whether I like it or not.
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