Mama marbled, Babcock

My reward for managing not to pass out from the cortisone shot I needed to calm the Lyme-induced (we think) inflammation in my right shoulder was to go for a hike in the Babcock woods. The main vernal pool I wanted to check on was bone-dry again, and there were no signs of small amphibians scurrying around in the leaf litter. But when I rolled one of the logs that, when the water returned, would be about midway up the pool depth, I saw, to my eternal delight, a black and silver tail surrounded by a fair number of eggs. I'd seen adult Marbled Salamanders before, but I'd never spotted an adult female on her nest. This was beyond a reward... this was a bona fide blessing. I didn't want to disturb her much, and I certainly didn't want to risk contaminating the eggs, so I tried to wiggle her out of hiding and just into full view. The image is not the best, but I'd rather err on the side of safety. Pretty soon, possibly within a day or so, because there's heavy rain in the forecast, she'll depart and seek shelter in some refuge below the frost line. Her eggs, once they're covered by water, will quickly hatch and send a new wave of amphibian predatory larvae into the soon-to-be iced-over pond. I hope there are plenty of water fleas and other minute invertebrates for the young marbleds to feast on and grow over the winter. When I had finished taking pictures, I covered her with moss and nestled her back under the log.