Spotted salamanders are famous for their springtime congresses, when males and females migrate in huge numbers from the woodlands where they’ve spent the winter to the vernal pools in which they will mate. I’ve spent many a warm and rainy spring evening hanging out around the local vernal pool with a flashlight strapped to my head, hoping for a good show. (No, I’m not the only whackadoo that does this sort of thing; for a sense of what draws us out there, read this. Or this.)
Anyway, I have never, ever seen a spotted salamander outside of that spring migration. But on Saturday, a day before Hurricane Irene crashed through Massachusetts, my husband unearthed this little fellow in the garden. He was kind enough to pose for a picture.
Here’s to some wild in your Wednesday …