Nature & Wildlife Thread

[j.w]

Sounds like it to me koi guy and if tater toots are tot farts then fry froots are fry farts and I still likes me tator toots and froots french fried up fine!

 

[HARO]

John

 

[Lisaebetten]

We actually lived at an old fish hatchery on a river in Oregon. We used to watch them race up the river during spawning season. It was really cool.

Sounds like we need to color a map of all the places you have lived!!! you've been around.

 

[tbendl]

We did a count at some point and I think it was 43 moves over the years. I'm either part gypsy or half crazy. Could be both.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

I did a lousy job at getting fall foliage pics this year but, here's a few around my house.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Here's some of the mountains. I waited a little too long.

 

[j.w]

Oh pretty, lots of Fall color. You guys have many more different colored changing trees back east than we do here.

 

[Big Lou]

Little to no color here except for planted trees.

 

[j.w]

My neighbor found this fella or gal in her garage.

Found this on the net about it:

“Digging about in your Northwest garden from time to time you have probably come across a slender black salamander remarkable for the beautiful metallic gold stripe running down the length of its back and on to the tail. Now you’d think the obvious name for this amphibian would be Gold Back or Slender Gold or something at least descriptive of the way the little guy looks. But nooooo! The lineatic guru's in charge of salamander appellation gave this guy the title of Long Toed Salamander all because of rather extended fourth toe it has on its hind feet. While I admit that toe is somewhat of a distinctive feature of this caudate I would still vote for the gold back stripe as the defining feature.”

“Long toed salamanders are members of the Ambystoma family, those secretive caudates grouped as the Mole Salamanders in deference to their predilection for a mainly hidden, underground lifestyle. The even more inexplicable and less pronounceable scientific name is Ambystoma macrodactylum – which translates to something like “blunt mouth big toe” believe it or not. Smaller than its giant cousins, the Northwestern and Tiger Salamanders, the Long Toed generally attains a slender six inches in length. Diminutive though it is, however, these salamanders have a range just as extensive as the big guys and are found from Alaska to California and across to Idaho and even Montana. They inhabit a wide range of terrain as well; some even found in fairly arid regions. As expected for a species so widespread there are an extensive range of sub species: Western, Eastern, Southern, and Santa Cruz. Yet despite names that span the cardinal directions Long Toed Salamanders are citizens of the west and especially the Northwest.”

 

[Lisaebetten]

I think it needs to live near your pond!

 

[addy1]

What a pretty little critter!

 

[j.w]

They let it go in their yard and it started digging to China! Think it's trying to find a comfy place to hibernate maybe?

 

[Big Lou]

We currently have one or more living tillers visiting our yard each night. Yes, armadillos. Each and every area covered in mulch has and is being dug into every night. Thankfully not harming any plants. This is the first time to have them in our gardens. Guess the compost type mulch harbors insects that these creatures love. I actually like the very thorough mulch mixing done while they dig. Sorta like no harm, no foul. Every few days I go lightly rake the mulch level.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I just got back from my final camping adventure of the year and I had a blast! I camped in the Point Beach State Forest. Like always, I'll try to share as few photos as possible but it is so hard to go through and sort out my favorites.

One thing I planned to do long before the trip was to search the forest for salamanders. I'm still very unfamiliar with them and was hoping I would be able to find at least one. Well, they were much easier to find than I imagined. I probably found around 40 total. Every log or two I looked under, there would be one. Occasionally there would be two, and once there were four under one log.

I found three species of salamanders while there. The first and most common was the Blue-Spotted Salamander. I would find one of these under almost every semi-rotten log.

The second species I found was the Red-Backed Salamander. I found around 8 in total. One was only an inch long, but others were much larger.

The third species, which I only found three or four of, is the Spotted Salamander. This was probably the largest salamander I found.

A bonus on the final morning was another amphibian I have never seen before. A Wood Frog.

Point Beach State Forest lies on sand dunes that border Lake Michigan. Outside of the forest, they still maintain the typical "sand dune" look. They're so interesting to explore, day or night.

Something I made sure to do while I was there was to get up early to watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan.

Of course, watching the moon rise over the lake was nearly as stunning.

Here are a few photos in the forest.

Lastly, one of the most popular things about Point Beach is the Rawley Point Lighthouse. When I was young, I remember seeing the beam of light shine above the campground no matter what campsite you were in. Since then, they must have replaced the light because there was no beam, even in fog. I made sure to get a few photos of it in a few different conditions.

Point Beach campground is the first place I can remember camping at. Every time I go back, it feels like something special. So many memories throughout the years, and the campground looks nearly the same now as it always did. I was thrilled to go back there once again this year after a two year absence.

 

[Big Lou]

So beautiful.