Deer urine, trilliums, and salamanders

I'm just back from three days on the road, which involved speaking at two different conferences in southernmost Ohio. There was time for some fieldwork in between events, and a fortuitous set of circumstances converged to create ideal conditions for the observation of one of our most interesting groups of animals. I have photos galore and will share some stories later. Here are a few pictorial highlights (?) from the past few days...

I often receive requests from readers clamoring for high quality deer urine. Well, not really, but someone might be interested in obtaining deer urine. If you are, Frank's your man. This barn is just outside Rarden, Ohio, on State Route 73.

Just a short distance from Frank's, I stopped to check the status of a true harbinger-of-spring, the rare snow trillium, Trillium nivale. The elfin lilies were coming along nicely, and many plants had burst into full flower. This population - the southernmost in Ohio - should be at peak in a week or so.

Most of my fieldwork focused on amphibians. We were lucky to cath the absolute peak of spotted salamander activity, and I saw hundreds. Many other interesting denizens of vernal pools were found, and I was able to get some good photos of creatures that one does not often see, doing things that are seldom observed.

More amphibians to follow.