3-30-10

Trip Details

Start Time: 4:45 p.m.

Weather: Mostly Sunny. 72 degrees for a high. Wind around 12 mph.

Location: Linn County Iowa

Herpers: Jim Scharosch & Matt Ricklefs

Account by: Matt Ricklefs

Photos by: Matt Ricklefs

Thought of the Day: Serpent Season Opener

This was the first day it had been 70 degrees or over since early October, or about then. The nights had yet to really get warm but after a full day of sunshine and 70 degrees it was too hard to pass up getting out.

I ventured out and then Jim joined me a little while after. In an area with some junk the first serpent emerged. It was not large; in fact it was a juvenile and about 5 inches long. A common species to be seen out early, the magnificent serpent was the Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi).

It was a nice sign of spring though. We did not see anything else, but this was the first day of a run into close to 80 degrees.

As we bid farewell to the glorious Brown Snake I paused to wonder, “What does this season have in store for us?” “What spectacular surprises, amazingly ordinary jewels and stupendously urbane adventures will we encounter?” “We will find out soon enough!” Until next time my friends…

By the way…this last paragraph is A LOT funnier if you read it with a Jacques-Yves Cousteau accent!

Happy Herping!