Have a gander at what my dad came across just the other day! Keep in mind that it's December here in New England, so a find like this now is extremely unusual but let me clarify...
It's not that this little guy was on a walk-about. My dad was actually de-installing his sub pump from just outside the basement so it wouldn't freeze. The pump sits in a deep hole that was dug just underneath a grate and crushed stones. Well, this guy had chosen this same place to hibernate for the long, cold winter. Perhaps he was drawn to the cold, dark and damp hole. I didn't want to handle him, so I didn't measure him but I would guess he was close to 7" long.
My dad kept him outside in a bucket, so not to wake him from his winter nap, until we were able to visit. Emilie was excited and refers to him as a lizard. We took a number of pictures before releasing. I placed him near the edge of the wood, under several planks of wood and covered him with some additional cold mulch. Hopefully this will suit him well and keep him safe until March when he'll awaken and make his way to the vernal pool next door for some nookie!!
My dad finding this guy is reassuring to know that they're still out there and doing fine. It also brings back some good memories of when I was young. Come the first full moon in March, ideally on a raining night, we'd put on our rubber boots, grab a flash light and head to the swap in the hopes of finding and seeing these guys on their migration.
I think I will introduce Emilie to this come March 2007.
1 comment:
"I think I will introduce Emilie to this come March 2007.:
I hope that you do, I think that she would just LOVE that!!!!
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