We have a quite a large crop of red back salamanders in our yard.  I discovered this fact after a heavy rain last night that brought out various denizens of the yard and garden.  Seems we have a good eco system going here.  The only things we’re missing are frogs.  Yes, I do miss my bullfrogs.

     One of my favorite things to do is to take a flashlight and go out into the yard at night.  You see so many different small creatures during this time that you don’t often see during the day.  I refuse to go wandering about the yard at night without some sort of light source.  It’s no fun to step on a snake and jump out of your skin when it wraps around your foot—yes, it’s happened to me.  Thank goodness, the only snakes we have are harmless garter snakes.

     Nighttime is also a great time to rid the garden of pests.  I bet my regular readers remember how I went out picking cucumber bugs off my cantaloupe and watermelon vines.