Discussion: Wow!

Anna will be impressed. Do you see them often (when it's not November?)

Every few years I will catch one of them with its head barely poking out of burrow in the ground (how in the world do they dig it?), and it's a very odd sight if you aren't prepared for it. The first one I ever saw in my yard caught me quite by surprise, and I had no real idea what I was even looking at, as I would have never guessed there was even a possibility of a salamander in the yard.

The biggest mystery--to me--is what do they do for a body of water to complete their life cycle. Now there is a pond 2ish blocks away at the golf course, but that's relatively new. Before that, the closest thing I can think of is a small stream a mile or so away--quite a distance for a salamander to go, even if these are large salamanders. And it would involve multiple road crossings. And yet, somehow they have managed.

How big are these things?

The one I just saw was circa 7". No telling how big they would get if they ate pizza, but even without they can reach 12" or more, and at that size are quite capable of taking on large grasshoppers and small yap dogs.

"He's lucky!" says Anna. Burrowing salamanders are apparently hard to find. She is now bugging me to drive to Wyoming. Now. ;-)

Is she old enough (or almost) to drive herself?

I can't be 100% sure, but it looks like there is a rare local sub-species here in several places in Albany County where the yellow coloring of these salamanders is extra intense, and approximating Cowboy Gold. They're really special. The ones in my yard are more subdued. : (

Oh, JJ...yikes. Yes, she starts Driver's Ed right before Thanksgiving.

Consider yourselves warned. ;-)