During yesterday’s trillium hike, we saw another orange newt on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.

Newt on the Appalachian Trail

My wife took this picture of an eastern newt along the Appalachian Trail.

Eastern Newt Hiking a Section of Appalachian Trail

Lynchburg’s NewsAdvance.com reports:

This frog has a leg – make that two legs—up on the competition…

Dubbed “Sixy” by its discoverer, the frog, which has two legs in front and four in back, was netted in Grayson County’s Hale Lake on July 3.

Ahead of the ongoing mid-Atlantic rains, I wanted to do a bit of work to ensure the drainage ditch along the driveway was ready. When I repositioned a rock in the ditch, I discovered this redback salamander.

This salamander looks similar to the Shenandoah salamander, but I believe this is a redback salamander since the Shenandoah salamander is not known to inhabit the mountains this far north.

Redback Salamander

See Also: Slimy Salamander

A pickerel frog was hanging out in our backyard recently.  The wet May and June created a nice muddy habitat underneath our deck.

Newts are common pets, but are toxic.  You should also wash your hands after handling and never put a newt in your mouth.