Four-toed, home

There are other fascinating critters besides the prominent Wood Frogs and Spotted Salamanders out and about in the vernal pools these days and nights. This is a Four-toed Salamander, a "prize" I collected last night and photographed, then returned, to the same place I found it: checking out the moss atop a mound of Tussock Sedge. You can't see the characteristic four toes on each back foot, but the other two prominent ID characteristics—the black spots on its light belly and the constriction where the tail meets the body—are clearly visible in this image, which, mea culpa, I asked the salamander to pose for. This one's probably a female, fertilized during mating rituals last autumn, and it's now scurrying around the pools in search of Sphagnum Moss, the plant variety she uses to make a suitable nest for the eggs she will soon lay and guard, often until they hatch a month or so from now. This moss wasn't the right kind, so, after a bit of exploring, she splashed back into the water and swam away in search of more suitable nursery real estate.