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

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

A small female moose (Alces alces), perhaps a two-year-old, grazing beside the road. I didn't notice at the time, but there was a dead moose about a quarter mile away on the other side of the road. That might have been this one's mother. I've been told that moose prefer to graze along roadsides because the plants there are especially rich in salts, from the salt used to melt ice on the pavement in winter. Spring, White Mountain National Forest

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

Bull moose (Alces alces) in velvet browsing by the side of the road, late spring, Crawford Notch

Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), late spring, Mine Falls Park

Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), mid-spring, Crawford Notch

Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), early spring, Crawford Notch

Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), early spring, Crawford Notch

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

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

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) lurking in the Mill Pond. Spring, Mine Falls Park

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

A green frog (Rana clamitans melanota) sitting on the mud beside the Beaver Brook. This one is somewhat small and very skinny. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) swimming in the Beaver Pond. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

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

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

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

A garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) basking beside the trail. The thick body suggests that this is probably a female, but it is small, probably just one year old and not yet breeding. Adult females this time of year are usually heavily pregnant. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) basking just below the surface of the canal on a sunken log. This is a typical adult size for southern New Hampshire, with a carapace length of ten or eleven inches. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) surveys the canal from the vantage point of a stump. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A pair of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) on a log. The one on the left, with a high, dome-like carapace, is a female. The male has a flatter shell. In the full-size picture, you can also see that the female's claws are much shorter than the male's improbably long claws. Normally, the male's tail is noticeably longer than that of the female, but this guy appears to have had an accident. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A small painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) with a carapace length of about three inches, this one might be two years old. Young ones like this are nearly round, while the adults are elongated front-to-back. (And I can't tell the sexes apart at this age.) Spring, Mine Falls Park

A large female painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) takes a leisurely stretch while basking. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A near-capacity crowd of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) on a log. Odd that most of them have their legs fully retracted into their shells Don't know why. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) in a swampy corner of the Beaver Pond. A few large individuals like this one, perhaps seven inches long, appear in mid-spring. Later in the year, the pond is swarming with smaller newts, about five inches long, which I take to be the year's crop of new adults. They spend their "adolescence" as land-dwelling salamanders called red efts. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Two red-backed salamaders (Plethodon cinereus), one with its head hidden under a leaf. Is it my imagination, or do these have longer tails and narrower stripes than the ones I saw in Greeley Park a week earlier? Spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

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

Two red-backed salamaders (Plethodon cinereus) entwined. The upper one is somewhere between "dark phase" and normal coloration, with a reddish tinge to his dark back, especially toward the rear. The "costal folds," are a little more plainly visible in this picture. Spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH

A red-backed salamader (Plethodon cinereus) exhibiting the normal coloration. The white material is the tendrils of fungus permeating the rotten log under which I found this salamander. Spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH

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

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

Green frog (Rana clamitans melanota) nearly invisible in the beaver pond, with only his eyes and nostrils above the water. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) basking on the first warm day of the year. Spring, Mine Falls Park

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

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

American toad (Bufo americanus americanus) and toadstool, mid-spring, Crawford Notch

American toad (Bufo americanus americanus), mid-spring, Crawford Notch

American toad (Bufo americanus americanus), mid-spring, Crawford Notch

Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) basking on a log, mid-spring, 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 an American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A dragonfly (suborder Epiprocta) with eight wings? This species (which I don't know the name of) has nearly transparent wings, like most dragonflies, with unusual nearly opaque black patches. The result of the combination of nearly invisible with plainly visible parts is that the shadows of the wings look exactly like the actual wings. No, this dragonfly has only four wings, like any other dragonfly. Early summer, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A spittlebug (Superfamily Cercopoidea) hidden in froth that is sometimes called "snake spit." It is actually a froth of plant sap produced by the larva to hide itself from predators. They are abundant along the edges of the orchard near the Brown Lane Barn. I find them most often on plants like this: Tallish single-stalked plants with stemless leaves. (Don't know the name of the plant.) Early summer, Self-Guided Nature Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Dragonflies (suborder Epiprocta) basking on the boardwalk. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A dragonfly (suborder Epiprocta) basking on the boardwalk. Early summer, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) with some sort of wasp (family Vespidae) on it. Summer, Riverside Office Park, Andover, MA

Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) with some sort of wasp (family Vespidae) on it. Summer, Riverside Office Park, Andover, MA

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

Myriad hatchling water striders (Gerris sp.) on the Mill Pond. Late spring, Mine Falls Park

A dragonfly patrols his territory, keeping other males of the same species away from his chosen stretch of the shore. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A damselfly resting on a wild strawberry leaf beside the canal. Spring, Mine Falls Park

A small bee (Apis sp.) sipping nectar from a blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis). Spring, Wapack Trail, Pack Monadnock

A small bee (Apis sp.) sipping nectar from a blue-bead lily (Clintonia borealis). Spring, Wapack Trail, Pack Monadnock

A black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) on a laurel. Spring, Wapack Trail, Pack Monadnock

A black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) on a laurel. Spring, Wapack Trail, Pack Monadnock

A large, reddish crayfish (family Cambaridae), possibly a non-native rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) in the Beaver Brook beside Bouchard Bridge. Spring, Bouchard Bridge, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae) milling about on the Beaver Pond. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A whirligig beetle (family Gyrinidae) and the ripples he makes cast shadows on the muddy bottom of the Beaver Pond. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae) milling about on the Beaver Pond. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

White-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) hibernating in a small cavity on the underside of a rotten log. A long, slender beetle grub hibernates alongside. Early spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH

Three white-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata) hibernating in close proximity to one another. Knowledgeable sources say that only fertilized queens survive the winter, so these are not likely to be a queen and two workers, all from the same colony. Still, I often find small groups of them together like this, and I have to wonder. Early spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH

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

White-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) clinging to the underside of a rotten log. Early spring, Greeley Park, Nashua, NH

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

Whirligig beetle (family Gyrinidae) sitting uncharacteristically still. Spring, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

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

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

The cocoon of a moth rides out the winter in the branches of a rhododendron. Winter, Mine Falls Park

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae hanging on a twig, with my hand behind it for scale. Read more about my "discovery" of these unusual insects in Snow Flies. Winter, Pack Monadnock

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. Winter, Mine Falls Park

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

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

A honeybee (Apis sp.) on New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), early fall, White Mountain National Forest

A honeybee (Apis sp.) on New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), early fall, White Mountain National Forest

Honeybees (Apis sp.) on New England aster (Aster novae-angliae), early fall, White Mountain National Forest

A small bumblebee (Bombus sp.), smaller than average, emerges from her underground nest to forage. Early fall, Mine Falls Park

A huge bumblebee (Bombus sp.), possibly the queen, coming out of the same burrow. This one is easily four times the size of the one pictured above. Unlike honeybees (Apis sp.), queen bumblebees leave the nest to gather nectar and pollen just as the "workers" do. Early fall, Mine Falls Park

Water strider (Gerris sp.), late summer, Crawford Notch

A spider on pink granite, late summer, Crawford Notch

Slugs on granite, late summer, Presidential Range

Spider hanging in mid-air (actually, on a web that's invisible to the camera), late summer, Presidential Range

A bumblebee (Bombus sp.) departs from a purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) with her pollen baskets full, summer, Mine Falls Park

A leaf beetle (possibly Acalymma sp.) on a showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), summer, Mine Falls Park

Wasp (family Vespidae) on a showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), summer, Mine Falls Park

Bumblebee (Bombus sp.) on a pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), summer, Mine Falls Park

Bumblebee (Bombus sp.) on a pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), summer, Mine Falls Park

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

Grasshopper, summer, Mine Falls Park

Two water striders (Gerris sp.) eat a fallen damselfly while a smaller water strider waits his turn, summer, Mine Falls Park

Water strider (Gerris sp.) on the still water of the Mill Pond, summer, Mine Falls Park

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

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), summer, Mine Falls Park

A water strider (Gerris sp.) floating above pink granite, early summer, Crawford Notch

A bee (family Apidae, possibly Nomada sp.) on a stiff aster (Aster linariifolius), late summer, Crawford Notch

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

Yellow slugs like this are rather common along the Arethusa Falls Trail, late spring, Crawford Notch

Water spider (family Cybaeidae), mid-spring, Mine Falls Park

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), early spring, Crawford Notch

Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) emerged from hibernation before the snow had melted, early spring, Crawford Notch

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 to close to the other's nest. Spring, Mine Falls Park

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

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

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

A large bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) defending a nice, sunny nesting site. Spring, Mine Falls Park

Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) loitering in the shallows of the canal, summer, Mine Falls Park