| This Saturday’s outing with the boy was really a fishing trip—we were waylaid by herps for a few minutes though. I apologize for picture OD, playing with a new camera.
Aside from my son’s favorite, prairie ringnecks, this was the first find, under A/C:
Prairie kingsnake, Lampropeltis c. calligaster, in the blue
Under a traditionally Coluber constrictor tailgate, we saw this coiled:
Osage copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster
My son can get to these quicker than I can sometimes—ooh, snake, little snake!—and he’s off. He does a good job of being gentle with them.
We finally got to our destination and began casting while keeping a look out for Graham’s crayfish snakes—our quarry came quickly and in numbers—these next photos are off-topic in case you are waiting on download and may want to stop them
Bigmouth and largemouth
On the drive home, a small speck on the road seemed to move. I stopped quickly, making the car a hundred feet back or so go around us, and saving the life of this neat little fellow who was right in the line of tire. It appeared that he may have just broken the shell and emerged:
Hatchling common snapping turtle, Chelydra s. serpentina
Very good afternoon in my book—herps and fish and watching my boy enjoy them.
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