It's been unusually warm here in the mid-atlantic for
a few weeks now, in fact, it's 10:30 pm and 52 F outside
(A real bummer for someone like I who loves snow). Anyway,
got home tonight and found a 6" spotted salamander (stocky,
black with bright yellow spots) out back near our new
pond. We have lots of small salamanders in the yard, but
this is the first time I've seen one of these so we took
a few pictures and let it go near the waterfall. Apparently
they become active in February when the snow starts to
melt at which time they start roaming at night looking for
a mate and a pond/pool to lay eggs in. Got my fingers
crossed!