All of Fall!

Well! I've been out and about in the past month and a half, and also working hard, and in that time: Fall happened! The weather report is calling for snow this weekend (!), so this seems like the best and last time to share the pictures of fall in Central New York that have been gathering on my computer since my last post. I missed this season deeply during my year in Northern California, so I tried to absorb as much fall as I could in recent weeks. Here are some sights from all of fall!

Way back on October 11, I was at the Roy H. Park Preserve just as the fall foliage was really getting going. I love seeing the trees make these waves of color:
 

A pair of White Cabbage Butterflies were feeding at New England Aster blossoms (Aster novae-angliae) while also making the next generation of butterflies. Actually, I guess just the one butterfly was feeding while the other was along for the ride. This whole process looks rather ungainly, but I guess it works:
 

All sorts of interesting fungi were sprouting up in the damp woods. This one log was home to at least three types of fungi, all with such different shapes and textures:
 

And this strange fungus looked like it was bubbling out of its tree's trunk:
 

A lovely little Garter Snake sat on the sunny forest floor near the path, waiting for the humans to move on:

A few days later, on October 14, I was back at another part of the Park Preserve, again marveling at the colors on the trees. Yes, we do fall pretty well here. I'll take it!

This was apparently a good week for snakes, because I nearly stepped on a Northern Water Snake who was basking on the path and looking way too much like a scraggly root:

The snake stayed motionless while we walked around it -- it was a chilly morning after all -- and I got to peek at its face through the grass:
 

In the woods, bright Canada Mayflower berries looked like little clusters of Christmas ornaments:
 

An almost-as-red dragonfly (one of the late-flying Meadowhawk species, I think) perched nearby, lacy wings against a lacy fallen leaf:
 

I'm always impressed that some insects are able to survive into the fall, past frosts and increasing cold. Several big grasshoppers were active in the marshy fields, and this one paused long enough on the boardwalk to have its picture taken:
 

On October 29, I got to walk in Sapsucker Woods, and the place was wonderful as always. The trees in some parts of these woods were bare by this point:

But other areas of the woods were still full and golden:
 

Witch Hazel blossoms floated over the path. How cool to see yellow leaves and yellow blossoms in the same day:
 

The view at the big pond was so still and beautiful:
 

A few Painted Turtles were out sunning, including this fellow with his impressively long claws:

And then, all of a sudden, it was late fall. On November 8, I was back at the Park Preserve, and the place was wholly different:
 

I have to say, for all the amazing riot of color in early-to-mid fall, I think I might love the muted colors of late fall around here even more... the floating yellows especially (are those birches?) but also the rusted browns and hazy grays and dark conifer greens. Ah, love:
 

The fields were filled with goldenrods gone to seed, here backlit for extra drama:

Even at this late date, a showy Meadowhawk dragonfly was still cruising around:
 

I happened to take a picture of almost the same scene at the Park Preserve nearly a month apart, and I love how these sights are both the same and totally different. Here's October 14:

And now, on November 8:

This place is amazing. :)
 

A Pine Barrens Bog

One big perk of visiting Paul's family (in addition to seeing everyone, of course) is that I sometimes get the chance to explore the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a truly strange and interesting place (and very different from the New England forests I'm used to). Even better, I get my own personal tour guide in Paul's dad, who is always willing to share his great knowledge about the wildlife and history of the area. So this past weekend, when we made our way into the wild lands of South Jersey to join everyone for an early Thanksgiving, I got to go on another adventure. :)

This time, Paul's dad took me to Brendan T. Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon State Forest, which was the name that still appeared on the signs and map I saw there). It's quite a big piece of land, as Google Maps tells me, encompassing areas that -- once upon a time, a century or so ago -- held industries and homes, but are now mainly forest. We spent most of our time driving around what was once a productive cranberry farm. The bogs are still there, as are the cranberries, but the place has become a little more wild in the intervening years:

I love the purple hue on those cranberry leaves, which make up most of the bog in the above picture, and the berries themselves are so festive:

We saw a few people wandering through the bogs, gathering the bright red berries into plastic bags. I munched on a berry out of curiosity, and it really wasn't as sour as I was expecting -- perhaps I picked a particularly ripe one. :)

There were a few other treats to be found on our adventure as well. This male Eastern Bluebird, along with his girlfriend, were hanging out with a flock of goldfinches in the trees next to the bog:

And this juvenile Northern Water Snake was sunning itself right in the middle of the sandy road:

Isn't it a little late in the season for you to be out, little creature? Not only was this snake much smaller than the others of its species that I usually see (it was about the size of a small Garter Snake), but its banded pattern was much clearer and brighter, too -- very pretty:

But that was nothing compared to the fantastically gorgeous and intricate pattern on its belly:

I've certainly never seen a Northern Water Snake from this angle before -- they're usually too big and imposing to try to pick up -- and it was quite a pleasant discovery! In the end, we encouraged the little snake to find a less hazardous place to bask, and we all moved on our way.

I think another trip to this bog in the spring may be in order, if the timing works out -- I suspect there will be many interesting plants and animals to see in a more active season in this place!

West Rock ho! (Part 1: Herps)

Wow, have I got a lot of things to share today! In fact, there are so many things that I've decided to split this up into two posts. Here's part one!

Paul and I took a trip today to Lake Wintergreen in West Rock State Park to walk around the lake and see what kinds of creatures we could find. This trip was actually pretty special for us in a sentimental way, since this is where we got engaged last year, and this was our last chance to visit it before we're married. (Oh yeah, that's coming up!) We both love Lake Wintergreen, mostly because it never fails to provide close encounters with frogs and snakes and turtles, and today was no exception.

This Green Frog was sitting on the edge of the lake, and we were able to sneak really close to it to take its picture. You can tell it's a Green Frog rather than a Bullfrog because it's got those two ridges running down its back (Bullfrogs don't have ridges like this -- they have creases that curve down behind their ears instead). I love that bright shade of green on this frog's face. :)

This medium-sized toad hopped across our path in the woods, and here it's doing a great job of blending in with its background. (Yay, camouflage!) We have two different species of toads living in Connecticut -- American Toads and Fowler's Toads -- and to be honest, I have no idea which species this is. You're supposed to be able to identify these toads by counting the number of "warts" inside individual black rings on their skin, but this little fellow doesn't have any of those black ring patterns that I've seen in pictures, so I'm a little stumped. American Toads are supposed to be more common, so that's probably what this is, but unless I find out otherwise, this will just have to be some sort of young unknown toad.

And speaking of toads, I'm pretty sure these are toad tadpoles filling the shallows of the lake:

See all that black stuff? Yep, that's all tiny tadpoles, and it was like this for yards along the shoreline. The little guys were wriggling and writhing, and hopefully finding some good things to eat to warrant this sort of crowding. It was quite a sight!

We almost walked right by this Northern Water Snake, basking on the banks of the lake and so well hidden in the grass:

What a beautiful creature, with those striking stripes across its mouth (and there's much more detail if you click on the picture to zoom in). I've never been this close to a water snake before, and this one was remarkably patient with us, with all the sneaking around and camera clicking (well, beeping really) that we were doing. Of course, then we took one step too many, and the snake was off like a shot into the water. (This next picture is courtesy of Paul.)

I love the pattern of ripples this snake makes when it swims. And the idea of snakes swimming still just sort of blows my mind.

But it wasn't all reptiles and amphibians at Lake Wintergreen today. Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of our West Rock adventure, where I'll post about all the non-herp things we saw: flowers and birds and other things as well!

Snakes and flowers in the sun

Paul came with me to the woods today, and I have to say, it was really great having the extra pair of eyes! We saw lots of newts and turtles, and look at what Paul found basking on a branch over the lake:

It's a Northern Water Snake, and the first snake I've seen this year! Here's a closer view of its front end -- you can just see its eye peeking over the branch:

These guys are pretty common around water (hence the name), and aren't dangerous. I mean, I wouldn't want to try to pick one up because I've heard that they're biters, but they're not venomous. We've seen these snakes swimming in the water before, and that's always cool to see, but it looks like this fellow was just content to lay back and enjoy the warm sunlight.

I was also happy to see that the Trout Lilies are just now starting to bloom -- I love these flowers. :) The mottled leaves of these plants are pretty much carpeting the ground in many places in these woods, but only on this south-facing slope are the plants actually sending up buds and opening blossoms already. These flowers just look so cheerful, especially surrounded by dead leaves and the hints of other plants just barely starting to grow.

It was great to see so many plants and animals out today -- everyone was having fun in the sun, and we were, too. :)