I wanted to tell you a little more about the campground where I’m staying. Now, in this campground the wildlife is amazing! In fact, this is the place where I saw my first salamander, a Red-Spotted Newt. I got a new camera, so I can take more pictures for my blog!
Did you know that all newts are in fact salamanders, but all salamanders are not newts? (This is like all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.)
When I saw these salamanders, I researched about them and found out that the Red-Spotted Newts are orange when young and slowly turn brown as they get older. After it rains you can find a ton of them at the bathhouse of the campground where we are staying.
Now what type of group do you think that salamanders fall into? Please shout out your answers!
I hear reptile.
I hear mammal.
I hear… whales?
Okay, you’re right. They are amphibians!
Now some of you may have questions about the differences between reptiles and amphibians. Well, for a start reptiles have scaly skin. For instance, have you ever held a snake? Remember how the scales felt?
Amphibians have smooth, sometimes wet skin. They may live on land or in water, but reptiles can only live on land.
Although, amphibians are born in water, they go through a change similar to a butterfly as they grow. Amphibians are born in a smooshy egg, in the water. At this stage it is a larva. Then it morphs into something else. For instance, a frog starts as a tadpole (the larva) then grow legs and lungs to breath air and slowly turns into a frog.
Another creature we found (or should I say The Sass, the dachshund next door, found) was a baby snake. It was a baby Ring Neck snake, which could fit in my hand. Sassy tried to eat it, but I rescued the snake from her evil clutches and set it free.
One day, I found another creature stuck in a spider’s web, behind the outdoor laundry machine. It was a little, helpless, baby stick bug. As quickly as I could (because it was struggling and I knew the spider would come back soon) I broke the web and set it free.
Every which way that I turn, in every direction, I see a Daddy Long Legs.
They’re invading!
At night fireflies do the same thing…
These are only a few of the critters here at the campground.
How interesting. I didn’t know that all newts are salamanders but all salamanders aren’t newts. When your Dad was a boy, and we camped on the islands on Lake George, we’d always find salamanders when they came out after a rain
Right now David is working in Houston; he’ll fly home Sunday night..
Love, Grandma