To the mountains!

Last night, I took off for Coweeta. I didn't have to be here until the afternoon, so I told Theresa that I would meet her in northern Georgia to catch some bog turtles (she has an internship this summer with the Georgia DNR surveying for these guys). Well, I didn't really plan out my driving very well, so I ended up with like three hours of sleep. But that's herping, eh?

We poked around areas like this:

And checked traps for bog turtles. This is a super-interesting species that lives primarily in the northeastern United States (with its stronghold in WV and PA) and that has declined dramatically as their sphagnum bog habitats have been drained, plowed, and raped by cattle farmers.

After the first few dozen traps revealed only snapping turtles, one held this cute lil' bugger. Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergi):

While poking around a different bog (we checked five during the course of the morning), I flipped a clump of moss to reveal this Seepage Salamander (Desmognathus aeneus) guarding her eggs. She wasn't more than an inch long.

After parting ways with Theresa and the bogs, I drove a few more hours to Coweeta. Here's a scenic overlook near where I'm living for the next six weeks.

It should be a really fun time, but I can tell already that it'll be lonely without Club Ecology. I'm definitely going to be visiting Athens at some point. Yay.