A gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) with a stumpy tail crosses the Mill Pond via high-tension wire. Late fall, Mine Falls Park

A red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) sits on a stump assessing whether I am a threat or not. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A chipmunk (Tamias striatus) with an acorn in his mouth freezes to see if I've seen him, before bolting down his burrow. Early summer, Elkins Road, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) trying to hide under the overhanging grass on the shore of the Mill Pond. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 22 Times.

A chipmunk (Tamias striatus) eating something on the Millpond Trail. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A chipmunk (Tamias striatus) startled as I approach. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A chipmunk (Tamias striatus) peeking warily around a tree. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 25 Times.

A female moose (Alces alces) crossing the road. Don't know why. Late summer, White Mountain National Forest Downloaded 110 Times.

Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), late spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 161 Times.

Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), early spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 155 Times.

Three red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) rest on the bottom of the Beaver Pond. I don't know what the different colors signify. Different sexes? Different ages? Individual variation? Something else? Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) rests on the bottom of the Beaver Pond. Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

An American toad (Bufo americanus americanus) sits on a submerged rock. This is his chosen spot for the breeding season, and he occasionally sings to attract a female. Late spring, Saco Lake, Crawford Notch State Park

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. The small eardrum, smaller than the eye, marks this as a female. Late spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 20 Times.

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. The water is covered with a mat of spirogyra, which almost supports the frog's weight. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 34 Times.

A northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) basking on the shore of the Beaver Brook. They are sometimes called "brown water snakes" or "banded water snakes," but the fact is that this species is highly variable in color and pattern. Most tend to grow darker and to lose any banding pattern as they age. This small snake is probably not very old, yet it is nearly black, which is also typical of individuals near the northern end of this species' range. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 187 Times.

A garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) basking beside the trail. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 113 Times.

Red-backed salamader (Plethodon cinereus). This is the "dark phase," lacking the broad bright stripe. The cluster of off-white spheres at upper left is a clutch of salamander eggs. Plethodons are among the few amphibians that lay their eggs on land. The young complete their metamorphosis within the egg and hatch as miniature adults, ready for life in the leaf litter. Also unlike most terrestrial amphibians, red-backed salamanders and their near relatives have no lungs and obtain all the oxygen they need through their skin and mouth linings. Like many modern amphibians, they have no ribs, but a series of "costal folds," visible in the full-size version of the picture, provide some stiffening of the body. Spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH Downloaded 187 Times.

Round clusters of white eggs, which I think are probably those of a mole salamader (genus Ambystoma), likley the eastern tiger salamander (A. tigrinum). Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 204 Times.

Green frog (Rana clamitans melanota). Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 123 Times.

A large snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in one of the three distributaries that flow from the Mill Pond back to the Nashua River. The water of this slow-moving stream is normally rather murky, but recent rains and snowmelt made it even worse than usual. This is not "The Monster," but it is a typical adult-size snapping turtle, maybe a little larger than typical for Mine Falls Park. I would estimate the carapace length at maybe 13 or 14 inches. Add about 11 or 12 inches for the outstretched neck and head, another ten or so for the tail, and this turtle approaches a yard long, overall. This video gives a clearer idea of the size. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 238 Times.

A milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum) just below Frankenstein Cliff, late spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 128 Times.

American toad (Bufo americanus americanus), mid-spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 148 Times.

American toad (Bufo americanus americanus), mid-spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 126 Times.

Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) basking on a log, mid-spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 208 Times.

A bumblebee (Bombus sp.), torpid from the autumn chill, struggles to save herself from the Mill Pond, where she has fallen in. Fall, Mine Falls Park

A wet, bedraggled bumblebee (Bombus sp.), rescued from drowning in the Mill Pond, crawls through the leaf litter to find the entrance to her burrow. She just might survive hibernation to start her hive all over again in the spring. Fall, Mine Falls Park

A spider in a small bush at the top of Arethusa Falls. Late summer, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Some sort of fly or perhaps a wasp on a stiff aster (Aster linariifolius). Late summer, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park.

Some sort of fly or perhaps a wasp on a stiff aster (Aster linariifolius). Late summer, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park.

A dragonfly (suborder Epiprocta) hovers briefly near the end of a glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) overhanging the Mill Pond, while a water strider (Gerris sp.) sits on the surface of the pond below. Summer, Mine Falls Park

A water strider (Gerris sp.) on the Mill Pond. Summer, Mine Falls Park

A click beetle (family Elateridae) stopping by my cubicle for a quick chat. Early summer, Riverside Office Park, Andover, MA

A brown dragonfly (suborder Epiprocta) with nearly invisible wings rests on the leaf litter. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

A "daddy long legs" (order Opiliones) on the wall of the screen house. There are many creatures called by this common name, but this is the type that I've always called "daddy long legs." It is also called a "harvestman," and while it is an arachnid (class Arachnida), it is not a true spider. It is distinguished by having the head and thorax fused into a single oval-shaped body, while the true spiders have two distinct segments. Another creature which some people call "daddy long legs" is the cellar spider (family Pholcidae), which is a true spider. In researching this tidbit, I also learned that in the U.K., crane flies ( family Tipulidae) are sometimes called "daddy long legs." These are not spiders at all, but insects of the order Diptera closely related to my Snow Flies (family Trichoceridae). Summer, my back yard, Nashua, NH

A mayfly makes its final moult, transforming from aquatic larva to winged adult, at the surface of the pond. With no solid object to support it, it can only use the surface tension of the water to stand on as it pulls itself out of its old skin. Early spring, Mine Falls Park

Having shed its last larval skin but not yet able to fly, the mayfly uses its wings to motor along the surface of the Mill Pond and find a safe twig to climb out of the water before a fish is attracted by its struggles. Early spring, Mine Falls Park

A yellow swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus), also known as the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly, on a wild strawberry plant (Fragaria virginiana). The small blue areas on the hind wings suggest this is a female. In June, the White Mountains are overrun with these butterflies. Late spring, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 266 Times.

White-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). This individual was hibernating by clinging to the underside of a rotten log, and there was a small cavity in the soil beneath. Whenever I go looking for hibernating hornets like this, I place the log carefully back where I found it, inserting each wasp back into the hole from which she came. Early spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH Downloaded 158 Times.

A beetle, probably a click beetle (family Elateridae), but this is the only red-headed click beetle I recall having seen. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 143 Times.

A rather large, long-legged wolf spider (family Lycosidae). This is "Branden's spider." My grandson found it and insisted it was his, and there was no room for discussion. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 169 Times.

A tick (family Ixodidae) on my son's sweater. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH Downloaded 190 Times.

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. The straight line under the insect is an illusion. It is actually the fly's left legs, the foreleg extending straight out in front and the hind leg extending straight out behind. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 125 Times.

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. Read more about my "discovery" of these unusual insects in Snow Flies. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 202 Times.

A huge bumblebee (Bombus sp.), possibly the queen, coming out of the burrow. Unlike honeybees (Apis sp.), queen bumblebees leave the nest to gather nectar and pollen just as the "workers" do. Early fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 106 Times.

Water spider (family Cybaeidae). The surface he's standing on is actually water with a dense growth of tiny duckweed (Lemna minor) floating on it. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 349 Times.

A dragonfly rests on a twig of glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula). I had previously misidentified this plant as black gum, so that is what the picture file name says. Summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 122 Times.

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 172 Times.

A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the first one I saw in 2007, on a flower overhanging the Mill Pond, mid-summer, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 212 Times.

Water spider (family Cybaeidae), mid-spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 103 Times.

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), early spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 101 Times.

Striped minnows loitering in a patch of clear water in the otherwise swampy Beaver Pond. I don't know the species or classification of these fish, but I've always called them "striped minnows." Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Two male bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) circle each other in a threat display after one got a little too close to the other's nest. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 22 Times.

A northern pike (Esox lucius) hanging out in the Nashua Canal. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 26 Times.

A pair of bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) spawn in the shallows of the Mill Pond. The male swims on his side, fertilizing the eggs as the female lays them in his nest. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 25 Times.

A northern pike (Esox lucius) looking for an unwary bluegill. Spring, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 45 Times.