Amphibious

 Today was an exciting day in the backyard, bearing in mind that it doesn't take much for nature to make me happy. I sometimes post Backyard Amphibian of the Day pictures here, and they are invariably of frogs or toads. I have found a variety of frogs and toads in my backyard, even if you only count my longtime backyard, and not my new woods. But frogs and toads are not the only amphibians that exist.

Backyard Amphibian of the Day:

 

A salamander!

I spotted it in the stream. I don't know the species, or if it is in the water just to lay eggs, or recently achieved adulthood, or if it is always in the water... I have seen two other salamanders in my backyard in the last 22 years, and none in the time frame of my macrophotography and blogging. I didn't have my camera with me on my walk, so I had to use my phone for pictures.

And video:

Of course, the closer video I got, without the reflection on the surface of the water, it didn't move:

 

 

Yesterday (was it yesterday? I have no sense of time anymore) I posted pictures of flowers blooming in my backyard, flowers I planted as bulbs over twenty years ago. In the woods, though, wildflowers are blooming:

It's still just the skunk cabbage, but it's such an interesting flower that it's enough for me for now.