Off to Newt Fest, BRB!

It was simply an outstanding morning for newts!

It had rained overnight and the precipitation was followed by a cooling of temperatures, so we awoke to a chilly morning. Who'd have thought it would be such a great morning for newts?

My husband and I hiked up to our local gameland - it was the first time I'd been there in weeks, if not longer. Our weekend adventures for much of the summer have involved swimming, not hiking. And of course there is nowhere to swim in the gamelands, unless you count the muddy beaver ponds; and I suspect none of us want to swim in there!

We saw our first few newts - itty bitty tiny ones - on the road to the gamelands. I stopped to greet each newt and photograph it. I also was in charge of Newt Aid; it was my responsibility to encourage any newt, or even pick it up and help it along, to move toward safer ground. No newts were left on any major highway or walking trail.

By the time we were done with our hike, we would see a DOZEN newts, of all colors, shapes, and sizes! What could be going on? Some kind of newt fest, or maybe newt-la-palooza! We saw newts walking, wriggling, and outright running; and some newts that sat quietly, not doing anything at all.

I photographed all but a few of the newts we met. This was newt number 2. It was possibly the tiniest newt of the lot, but it had the most swagger of all of them. I realize that Talk Like a Pirate day was Saturday, but this newt seemed to think that it was followed by WALK Like a Pirate day! Swagger, swagger, swagger, with a dramatic roll of the tail thrown in for good measure!

Now, here's a bit of information about Eastern newt biology and life cycle. Baby newts are born in a pond, from eggs. They develop and leave the pond as tiny red-orange efts like this one, and they go on walkabout. This disperses populations from one pond to another, to insure genetic diversity.

This newt is clearly headed on walkabout . . . a traveling newt! In a few years, it will find its own pond and transform into the dark green adult phase and raise a family of its own. Before that, though, red efts can really get around! Safe travels, little one!

Now, I have no idea what the gender of this newt may be, but here's a song about a traveler for its soundtrack: Ricky Nelson, with Travelin' Man.

P.S. Here's a random fact about me. I have always felt that if I had a spirit guide, it would be a red eft. I'm not sure what that says about me or even what it all means. But there you go . . .