Leopard Slug (Limax maximus)

Last night I discovered this huge leopard slug outside the door to my apartment. It was probably four or five inches, with sizable girth, really quite a beast. I'm not sure how it got there or where it was heading, it was not a particularly wet day out. So I am hypothesizing that it may have fallen from the trash bag when I removed it from behind the house to the curb, so I brought it back there, at least it will be away from foot traffic. I did a little research on them, and learned they are hermaphroditic, so when they mate both individuals can then lay eggs! Amazing little gastropod. It was difficult getting a decent photograph in the very low light, I decided to use the super macro function on my old Pro1, and this was the result.

Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Jacqui and I were driving to Adams Point this afternoon, when she spotted a painted turtle in the middle of the road. So we pulled over and I carried it across the road to the water, she snapped this photo with my old Canon Powershot Pro1. In the span of about a minute before getting back into the car we also spotted a muskrat with some vegetation in its mouth swimming in the wetland, and a great blue heron.

Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

I was out in the woods for a couple of hours this morning for a class, I found this beautiful garter snake on the edge of a vernal pool, it swam across to the other side in the blink of an eye. I jumped across and snapped a few shots. Marvelous creature! This photo was taken with the 18-55mm stock lens 1/125, F/7.1 . I have been busy with school and work, the semester is almost over, so I will be posting more photos as I have more time.