More nature stuff.

I've got to be honest.  I've been a bit overwhelmed by all the new things I've been learning.  It seems like every time I go out, I find something new and exciting (to me).  It's nice that it gives me something to occupy my mind, but I imagine it makes me seem a bit strange.  How many other folks do you know that go walking around the margin of a lake behind a hotel in New Jersey in search of frogs?  I also spend a lot of time in bushes surrounding hotels waiting motionlessly for whatever insect I'm stalking to sing again.  It's got to seem a bit creepy to folks.  Oh well, it gives me something to do when I'm on the road besides watch TV and read.
I've also been getting back into fishing lately.  Haven't caught much of note yet, but it's still a good time.  Spending lots of time when I'm home (which hasn't been much lately) wandering the yard learning new plants and things.  I don't know why it took me so long to pay attention to all the living things I'm surrounded by.  I guess geology and rocks distracted me for a long time.  Anywho, without further ado, here are some of the things I've found lately:

Some sort of insect eating a fly of some sort.  From the back yard.

A large mayfly I haven't bothered to identify yet.  From the yard.

Is this some sort of poppy?  It's growing beside the road to our house.  Unsure if it was planted or if it's wild, but it's doing fine on its own.  Mom?

A handsome green frog from the back yard.

I'm not sure if this is a mink frog or a green frog.  Teal?

Another angle.

Stalking an American toad on the Waterbury Reservoir near home.

A big ugly American Toad.  There were lots of these guys mating.

The water was full of their eggs.

I even managed to catch a couple in the process of laying them.

Another Fowler's Toad (I think) from New Jersey.

No question about what this big fella is.  Bullfrog!  (From behind the hotel in New Jersey)

Jug-o-rum!

There were also some large snapping turtles roaming around, but I didn't manage to pick them up.  Carapace was probably almost 2 feet long on this one.

And now for some fish.  Rainbow trout caught trolling a spinner while canoeing on the Waterbury Reservoir near home.

Yellow Perch.  Lots of these around and they like to hang around the shore.  You could get them with a dip net if they weren't so quick.

And the biggest fish I've caught so far (maybe ever), some sort of sucker.  These guys get pretty big and I've seen tons of them, but this is the first I've managed to catch.

The same fish.  22 oz. Rock Art "Vermonster" beer for scale.  Anyone know what species this guy is?
Edit:  It's a white sucker (Catostomus commersoni).

















And that's that for now... Hope you all enjoy your memorial day weekend.  I've got plans to run the Winooski with Chrissy tomorrow.  So, expect to see some pictures from that.  Leave some comments, it motivates me to share more stuff if I know folks are reading/viewing it.