Mark and I seldom have time to participate in as many
herping (herpetological) adventures as we he would like. The herping highlights for 2016 were mud
snakes in Arkansas and hognose snakes in Ohio. This
posting is regarding the mud snakes in Arkansas.
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| Juvenile Western Mud Snake |
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| Juvenile Western Mud Snake (Another Angle) |
Our June trip to Arkansas was not planned. Mark and I were packed and ready to go to
Charleston, South Carolina, when I received a call from my sister. My mother, Emily, was in the hospital. We quickly changed our plans and started
driving to northeast Texas. We were
able to spend a short time with my wonderful mother before she passed away. After a heartbreaking and stressful week, we
decided that we needed a side trip.
Mark wanted to look for mud snakes, and I wanted to experience the
scenic beauty (and delicious barbecue) of Arkansas.
Before we left, we stopped at the Walmart for rakes and mud
boots. The cashier mentioned that it was
gardening season again, and she also needed some boots. Mark said that he was using them to look for
snakes. She gave him a strange look as
she handed him the receipt.
As we drove to Arkansas, Mark excitedly talked about mud
snakes and crayfish snakes. We stopped
at a boggy area. Mark exclaimed, “We’re
here!” He unloaded his net, rake, and mud boots. I pulled out my chick-lit novel, crossword
puzzle book, and reading glasses. As Mark
raked for mud snakes, I read my book and did crossword puzzles. Finally, Mark came back and told me of his
finds: mud snake, crayfish snake, and lesser sirens.
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| Bog Where Mark Raked for Mud Snakes |
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Gulf Marsh Crayfish
Snake
|
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| Lesser Siren |
We spent the night in Oklahoma, and then drove into Kansas. Mark
had a herping destination near Wilson Lake.
While Mark was looking through a low area, I caught a Texas Horned
Lizard by the side of the road. I was
calling for him to come back and take a picture of it, but he didn’t hear
me. I was able to hold it until he
returned.
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| Texas Horned Lizard (in Mark’s hands) |
As we were leaving Wilson State Park, I suggested that we
drive into Wilson for kolaches. I explained
that kolaches were Czechoslovakian pastries. I had discovered the Made From
Scratch restaurant on another trip. After a delicious lunch, we drove back to
Colorado.
After we returned to Colorado, Mark started scratching. He had poison ivy. I sighed and thought, “Just for once, I would
like to take a trip that doesn’t involve calamine lotion.”
Part two will cover our Ohio trip, where we looked for the
Eastern Hognose snake.
