Diva's Challenge and Salamander Stampede

This week's Diva challenge is to use the tangle 'Quandry' (the tangle on the left of the tile).  I suck at Quandry. I guess this just means that I will have to add it to my tangle rotation more often. I love the way it looks when it's done correctly. Mine is NOT. The tangle was done on a white tile, but for whatever reason, my camera decided to make it look tan. 

I went out at 9PM tonight to join the Great Salamander Stampede that I talked about a couple of entries ago. It was more like the Salamander Trickle. It's still pretty cold in these parts and so only the really eager-beaver horny salamanders are migrating to the ponds right now. We did find several but it wasn't exactly the bucket brigade situation I envisioned to get them across the road.  Even so, hanging out in the deep, dark, dank, ditches with herpetology geeks is SO MUCH FUN. What a hysterically funny and interesting bunch! 

On my drive in to the meetup, I saw my first one. He was right on the yellow line in the middle of the road. He looked like a mini alligator. I pulled over, put on my flashers and  picked up all 11 inches of him and moved him across the road. Before I put him down, I flipped him over to see if he was a boy or a girl. He was definitely a 'he'.  As soon as he was upside down he started pulling the 'alligator death roll routine' and lashing his tail back and forth. Pretty aggressive-seeming behavior considering the worst thing he could actually do is pee on me. 

  

I'm still not feeling up to snuff so I was only able to stay an hour or so but we found several more while walking up and down the road. 

They really are beautiful little fellas. We had to be reminded not to put them in our pockets and take them home as pets since they are an endangered species.

I, of course, named them all and designed little sweaters for them in my head to protect them from the abnormally cold spring. This week is supposed to be uber cold again so they will slow down. Once we get some more warm weather and some good rain, I anticipate seeing lots more. I'll go out on the nights I can for the next couple of weeks and offer free rides across the street! Someone better pat down my pockets before I go home!