Salamanders
Yesterday, while moving a pile of tarp-covered sand in the garden, I was amazed to discover a very worm-like salamander. Online research seems to indicate it’s a Batrachoseps nigriventris, although I could easily be mistaken.
In any case, I soon found that there was not one, but several living there. I guess that’s a good sign — we must not have too much in the way of residual pesticides around.
Elizabeth set up some small shelters out of tiles and bits of tarp for them to take refuge in, as their previous home is no longer cluttering the driveway. It gives me a nice warm feeling to think they’re out there, lurking in the garden, along with all the other strange crawling things that I never see.
hi…i know you so little and am intrigued so much…my last salamander story…zillions from my childhood…maybe only one grown up, whatever that is….hills of west virginia…white sulphur springs…home of the greenbriar, political retreats and the woodland school of photography…..1986..i am at a little photography school…..dreading the human portraiture segment that had just begun…i came back to my little one room cabin where the stove and refrigerator were one unit to find a huge pile of dog poop outside my door…on top of it was a beautiful black and yellow salamander. I took it inside and washed it off, put it in a soup pan and made a portrait of it with my kodak portraiture instruction book….you know i actually really ended up enjoying that part of school, but i was sure i would not…..anyway hi and congrats and maybe see you in october or whenever the next one actually happens
susan