The Dance of the Spotted Salamanders

Monsters from the deep: the Barrens edition!

Hold the presses! On this day, I got to experience yet another of the seven wonders of the Scotia Barrens. I was privileged to witness the spotted salamanders' dance. It was the very first time I have ever seen such a spectacle!

Temps were in the mid 40s in the afternoon when I hopped on my bike and headed for the Barrens. I heard frogs calling in one of the smaller ponds out under the power lines; later, I saw a pair of tiny turtles there.

I did not hear or see any frogs in my favorite pond, but as I sat and watched the water, I did notice something else: in the middle of the pond, huge amphibians were rising to the surface. Up they'd go, seeming to walk on their tails. Glurp! Out came a bubble. Also: circles! Then back down they'd go, sinking into the dark and murky depths.

They looked like tiny fat gray manatees with yellow spots, but they were actually spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). They seemed to cluster around a small tree branch with leaves on it that had fallen into the pond, so that seemed to be a good location for spotting them (see what I did there!?). 

This was my first time watching several of them in action, and it was really NEAT! Apparently, this was a courtship ritual that I witnessed. It was male spotted salamanders "dancing" to try to attract mates. When they do the dance with females accompanying them, it is called a "nuptial dance" or "liebesspiel."  :-)

In other (good) news, the shed guy came and fixed our shed. He gave us an estimate promptly, stuck to it, scheduled us, called to remind us the day before, arrived five minutes early, worked without a break for nearly five hours, did beautiful work, and now the shed looks "like new." 

He went to extra effort to make sure we got an exact match on the siding and the color we preferred on the (metal!!!) roof. We are so pleased. My husband says, "I just want to sit and look at the shed all day."

In other (bad) news, actor Val Kilmer has died. He was one of our favorites, and he will always be Doc Holliday to us. Several of his best movies were Tombstone, The Saint, and The Doors, in our opinion. Go well, sir. Thank you for the movies. Thank you for everything. Tombstone best scenes 1. Tombstones best scenes 2. Oddly enough, Tombstone was on TV on this night, and my husband and I watched it. Okay, so we watch it almost every time it's on!

I need some soundtrack songs. I've been reading a Stevie Nicks biography by Zoe Howe, Visions, Dreams & Rumours, and enjoying it immensely. I could not decide between Fleetwood Mac's The Dance (entire performance here) or Lee Ann Womack's I Hope You Dance, so here they both are. 

Oh, and for my husband's remark about the shed, I've got the little-known tune: "I don't wanna work, I just want to look at the shed all day." Oh, wait, it was something about a drum, wasn't it? (By Todd Rundgren.) :-)