Some recent NE Ohio Stuff

Duckweed-covered Snapping Turtle



This time of the year a lot of amphibians are completing metamorphosis. There are many small Leopard Frogs out.



This orange-tinted Eastern Garter Snake was "cashing in" on the frog bounty.



A Wood Frog that still needs a bit more time before becoming terrestrial.



Non-native Yelly-belly Slider



A Jefferson Salamander that was maybe three inches in total length.



Northern Water Snake



And here's a few things from today - Midland Painted Turtle



A DeKay's Snake doing the "flatten out" defense behavior.



An Eastern Milk Snake in shed. This snake was under a rock that often has Eastern Milk Snakes - but only ones that are in shed.

Lately I've been interested in photographing dragonflies. Here are a few:

Eastern Pondhawk (male)



Eastern Pondhawk (female)



Widow Skimmer



Common Baskettail



Common Whitetail (female)



Common Whitetail (male)



Eastern Amberwing



Black Saddlebags



Blue Dasher



Ruby Meadowhawk



Not a bad time of the year to be "out and about!"

I love the dragonflies! I have a large population of blue dashers here.

nice pictures! love the dragonflies

Cool turtles! My friend just built a home in Aurora and there is a "pond" within 50yards of his back door - in fact he almost picked the "pond lot" but saner minds prevailed.

Found many of these "sliders" in/around the pond, and a few dead babies that were caught in the open and hit by vehicles.

Sadly, the pond is doomed anyway as the remaining lots build out, swales are carved for drainage - and his fellow sub-urbanites do their chemcal annihilations of nature in the name of having putting-green lawns.