The next day was Saturday the 19th and the cold had become pretty embedded in me but the band had a porchfest gig with friends that afternoon so I decided that nature and Vitamin D was a better bet than laying in bed all morning. We went to the local dens to see if snakes had returned for the season. Sly's Den showed nothing nor did Robles' Den but a log in a dry vernal got us a pair of Redbacks.
Another log flip revealed this small but bright Spotted Salamander.
There were no signs of anything having returned to the Valley Dens, either. Much to our delight, however, a Ringneck was sleeping under a rock towards the back of the Valley. A first for that spot.
Continuing on, I wanted to check out another dried up vernal as we'd seen Blue-spotted Salamanders in there before. It wasn't long before this beauty of a Bluie was unearthed.
This was turning out to be a pretty good (and mercifully easy) day! We continued on to the Cottonwood Dens, our most likely spot to see snakes that had returned for the season. It too was empty. I went over to a nearby spot that has discarded appliances and tires and junk that I always think "looks good for Milks." Guess what? It was this time! Under a trash bag!
We looked for Joe at his bridge but only this little frog noggin was (barely) visible in the duckweed. Bull? Probably but I can't discount Green. Either way, it was a delight to see.
We took the path up towards the park where I'd seen the hawk the day before. Andrea had a holy shit moment and pointed out a massive Racer that I'd walked right past and it bolted as soon as I saw it. I went over towards the water to look for it but as I am wont to say, it's like looking for water after you poured it down the drain. A pair of young boys were interested in what we were looking for and we talked for a while about our mutual love for critters. They looked around for the "Razor" a bit but we all conceded that it had outsmarted us.
We walked in the sun up in the other park and I showed Andrea where the hawk had been (we'd heard some Red-shoulders, too) and those kids kept their eyes on us. Andrea pointed out a snake slithering across the path in front of us and I took the long shot...
I gave a whistle and the kids scootered over to watch it slither into the rocks, then into the tall grass. This was the Ribboniest Garter I've ever seen. Slender, even a bit reddish, no prominent lip stripes and is that a white spot or a shine?
In the flesh, there was no question that it was a Garter but upon uploading the photos I was perplexed! We haven't had any trouble over the years IDing Ribbons on sight but this Garter was throwing me a test. I stand by Garter because, well it is one, but what a sight!
So, not a bad short walk! Three snake species (photographed, damn Razor!) and three salamander species and a bonus mystery frog! It appears that snakes haven't yet returned to their hibernaculums. They'd better hurry. It's getting cold.
I survived the hike and an afternoon of rock and roll, though my mind was pretty cloudy by the time we played and I messed up a few numbers. That's OK... we were among friends and had fun.
Still feeling a bit sick, though. And my money hasn't yet been returned to me from September 1st. So fuck you, Summer. Oh and the weekend is supposed to blow. Now I'm in a mood. Thanks a lot.
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