The Girl Who Loved Newt Dancing

My husband wanted to jog and I needed my daily walk, so we took our bikes up to the Scotia Barrens via Tow Hill, left them at the edge, and took off into the woods. I had my new camera with me; in fact, it was its very first real outing! Straight into the woods and waters of central PA with you!!! And off we went!

I walked down a steep hill to visit a favorite beaver pond, and I walked back up it when I was done. I was part-way back up the hill when I noticed that the ground seemed to be roiling around me. What was it? The ground was moving? No! I was surrounded by NEWTS! Newts everywhere!

It was like that arcade game of whack-a-mole, but in reverse. The world kept throwing newts at me (I envisioned a newt-capult! -  fling! fling!), and then a voice whispering, "First, do no harm!" I picked up my feet; I danced carefully around them The goal was to MISS all of the newts. Hey, look at me! I'm newt dancing!!!

I took my opportunity to step to the side and kneel down, when I realized I was amid at least a half-dozen newts. Most of them were the army green variety. One at the edge was a red eft!

As for the camera, it did a great job. I took pictures of trees, and water, and newts. The camera broke a spider web right in the middle of the trail. Ha! NOW it's being used!, I thought to myself, as I wiped some webs off it. The camera lens cap was attached from the right side of the camera.

I typically hold my camera with my right hand and take pictures with my right hand. With my left hand, I remove the lens cap, and often just hold it in my hand; sometimes that hold on the lens cap is the ballast that holds my camera steady for a shot. It's what I'm used to. I can't help it.

Well, of course, as soon as I got home, one of the first things I would do was to move the lens cap over to attach from the left. (Yes, I know. Picky picky. But it's a thing I touch a hundred times a day! It's gotta be how it's gotta be.)

Anyway, back to the newts! Conditions have been quite damp in the woods here, as we've been having rain nearly every day lately (I know - finally). And I came across several more newts before leaving the woods. My husband came up behind me and handed me a huge colorful leaf. For T. Tiger, we decided, as he had not come with us. It was the same shade as our Tiger!

But then, a newt crossed the path in front of me. Look, it's another red one, another eft! And in hopes I could lift him off the trail with it, I laid the big leaf down in front of the newt. It happily crawled on.

"Ordered it [the leaf] from the Internet, I guess," my husband said, laughing. "I know. And the colors are hardly ever what they say they will be, but LOOK, it matches!" I replied. And indeed, the leaf matched the newt! In short order, I'd picked the fellow up and moved it off the trail to safety. No newts were harmed in this story!

And THAT is the tale of how I went newt dancing on the first photo shoot out with my new camera!

My soundtrack song is this one: Lee Ann Womack, with I Hope You [Newt] Dance.