Stasia and salamander

My granddaughter Stasia was here for the weekend, so we spent as much time outside as possible. Today's agenda called for lots of log-rolling and flower-pot-overturning, all done in the hopes that we'd find Red-backed Salamanders, the one-time common amphibians that have become increasingly rare on the ridge. This probably has to do with the persistent drought, a situation that is pushing the Red-backs, which need humidity, deeper underground than usual. In years past, you'd find them under almost everything, from rocks to leaf piles. But last year, I noticed that they'd become scarce, and they've been none too common in 2014. In addition to the dryness, I wondered whether the earthworm invasion had also become a problem, with the invasives making living conditions unpleasant in the soil underneath logs and the like. In the past couple of weeks, however, I've started to find the little amphibs, and no sooner had Stasia and I looked under a flower pot than a Red-back wriggled away to safety. Stasia was delighted and when I picked up the critter, she wriggled in for a closer look.

[this will be for saturday, 18 Oct