Long Tailed Salamander AND Six Years!

What a fun outing with my group of naturalist friends!  We hiked about 3.5 miles, up and down rocky hills, near boggy areas, through the woods and into meadows.  For me, the two coolest finds were this Long Tailed Salamander (a first for me) and a gorgeous little 
Wood Frog  that was so well camouflaged in the leaves that I would never have seen him without the sharp eyes of a friend.  We also saw a nice selection of odes, both dragons and damsels and a smattering of butterflies.

We actually found a half dozen of these beautifully patterned salamanders.  One of our group is very good at flipping over logs and finding salamanders and then getting them calm enough to sit still for a few photos.  Salamander whisperer.  

The butterfly numbers continue to be rather alarmingly low here right now so seeing a relatively fresh looking Little Wood Satyr was a bonus.  We saw only a couple of fritillaries and one monarch.

Back home mid-afternoon  in time for a quick shower and de-ticking before zipping over to visit MIL for a little while.  She was in fine form today, and still in search of a man.  

My plan is to get out again tomorrow for a few hours of hiking and photography, hopefully early before it gets to warm.  We'll see how that goes...

Hummingbirds zooming all over the yard tonight while mama wren and both bluebird parents are taking loads of insects into the nest boxes to feed the little ones.  I will probably check both boxes again either tomorrow or Friday just to make sure all is well.  About 2 weeks to fledge for both boxes...  Now, let's just hope the bear doesn't get them.  

Happy Wednesday, people.

After posting this, I realized that it is my six-year blip anniversary.  SIX years!!  I certainly never set out to do this, but now it's become such a part of my daily life.  And I have met so many wonderful people here, including some who have become very good friends in the "real" world, people who I've had the great joy of spending time photographing wildlife with.  You know who you are.  So many inspirational people here, so many outstanding photographers, so many just genuinely good people.  Thanks for being along on this wonderful journey with me.  

xo
Debbi