Rainy Day

It was a rainy day in C'ville yesterday. We had decided in the morning that we should take advantage of our free time and go for a hike around the trails in our neighborhood. At that point, the sky was a bit overcast, but it didn't seem quite like rain yet.

A short time later, the kids were up and dressed for adventure. We headed out the door with high hopes, but as soon as we got a few steps down the street, the skies opened up, and we found ourselves in the midst of a downpour.

"Well," Ellis said, "Do we keep going?" 

I looked at the kids. Each one had a huge smile, and Mac was already running down the street letting out whoops of pure exhilaration.

"Well, why not?," I said. Ellis looked at me and the kids and gave me a look that said, "Okay!"

And that is how our very fun, rainy day began. Soon we found ourselves hiking over bridges, through the woods, and eventually in and around little streams. I don't think the kids have ever been happier on a hike. Davey was ecstatic to finally be freed from the baby carrier. I was amazed by how long he was able to hike!

        

MacArthur in repose. A rare sight.

Later that evening, I encouraged the kids to go back outside for a bit. "How about you try and dig up some worms?," I suggested. All of the kids got their shoes on and went outside excitedly, each one with a little shovel and tupperware container in tow. 

Sadly, there were no worms around our house that day, even with all of the rain. Just as we were about to turn in the for the night, I saw some stepping stones in our backyard and suggested we look under a few of them. We never could have guessed the treasure we found under the very first one! 

A little baby salamander! It was so cute! We gently placed the tiny creature in one of the small tubs of dirt and brought it into the light of our bathroom basement. Corrie and Mac observed its movements and fragile features for quite a while. We wondered what kind of salamander it was, and what sort of facts we could learn about it. 

Around 7pm, I explained that we needed to set the little guy free...back into the wild habitat of our backyard. I was glad that both kids took the news pretty well that we would not be keeping the salamander for a pet. 

We took a video of him moving around, and then we went upstairs and looked on the computer to see if we could identify the little guy and learn about him. 

It turns out that we had a newborn (1 inch long) baby Redback Salamander. Unlike other salamanders, the Redback does not live in the water. Instead, it lives in muddy areas, under rocks, or under piles of dead, damp leaves. The Redback also has no lungs, so it breathes completely through its skin. 

Both kids were excited to make a special page in their "creature books" for the little Redback. What a fun day!