When I saw this in the viewfinder I thou ght of you

“

;)”

“Why me?”

“Snuck off after work and played with the camera a bit ;)”

“Looks like it has the same cold blooded, reptilian complexion that my last girlfriend had.”

“"In ancient times salamanders were thought to be spirits who animated one of the four elements of the universe (earth, fire, water, and air). The salamander was associated with fire because it was believed that flames left his cold skin unscathed, and he was the only creature to travel to Hell and back."

Ha!”

“I remember finding salamanders at the grade school I attended, a magnificent old brick building given to the town by the 12th governor of Iowa (whose mansion, Montauk, sits on the hill above the town and is an Iowa State Historical Society site. The school is on the National Historic Register.)

We used to sneak off into the halls and "bowels" near the boiler room (and ending up in the boiler room -- can you imagine???! LOL!) Then we would head outside from there, through a double door and up some steps to ground level.

For some reason, there were often salamaders in the area of the steps. weird..... Only place I've ever seen salamanders on a regular basis.”

“Oh yeah and I LOVE the waterfall shot, Wind Walker. I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the G-5.

:-)”

“More Salamander Stuff.....

So many species of salamanders occur in the southern Appalachians — 34
at last count — that many scientists now believe the region is the center for
salamander evolution. Shenandoah National Park has 17 species. The
Mount Rogers NRA has 26. In the Mount Rogers/Whitetop area, 20 species
live on approximately 2,000 acres—the greatest known diversity of
salamanders in an area of this size on earth. Several varieties are found
nowhere else in the world.

One explanation for the diversity is the region's high precipitation.
Salamanders must stay moist to keep their sensitive skin from drying out.
The isolating effect of the mountains also contributes to the variety and rarity
of species. As temperatures warmed following the last ice age, salamanders
probably migrated gradually up the mountainsides to find cooler habitat.
Finally, separated from one another on various summits by now-inhospitable
valleys, salamanders evolved into many distinct species. The Shenandoah
salamander lives at just three sites on the north and northwest-facing talus
slopes above 2,900 feet in Shenandoah National Park. Because Plethodon
shenandoah cannot survive at lower altitudes, and cannot compete with the
red-backed salamander (Plethedon cinereus) in woodlands surrounding the
talus, it has no way — short of sprouting wings — to migrate to other talus
slopes on other mountains.

So specific are many of the habitats where various members of these
caudates have evolved, the salamanders have been named for particular
mountains or summits. Examples are the Peaks of Otter salamander, the
Cow Knob salamander, and the Roanoke Mountain salamander.

http://www.sherpaguides.com/virginia/mountains/natural_history/index.html”

“We had a light rain early this afternoon so the skies were cloudy and the rocks and grass were wet and the salamanders were roaming around all over the place...they are fun to watch.”

“We used to dare each other to eat a salamander when I was growing up. Don't know how it started just a stupid young male thing.

They're actually not bad.”

“Thanks Lizs
So...you're geting the G5... eh Cool!!!

I was supposed to be shootin' B&W film up there today...LOL! I got to playing with the digital on the tripod and shot 63 frames...and only 15 B&W frames on the 35mm, then it started raining pretty hard so I called it a day.”

“I once saw a pacific giant salamander. It was huge! at least a foot long :)”

“You can die from eating salamanders!! All Amphibians have toxins in their skin!! Some harmless,some toxic but not deadly,some fatal!! If you go around eating salamaders ,the first time you do it could well be the last!!”

“Then why do so many people eat frog legs?”

“Also I think thats a newt not a salamander ,Rough skinned newt maybe?!”

“Treebait some amphibians have stronger toxins ,some are harmful to humans some aint.”

“Tilt = Cliffy Clavin








j/k ;-)”

“Damn. I wasn't paying attention and turned into a pojama person, LOL

How the #&%!$ did that happen??”

“Streamweaver....it's a California Newt....but all the locals around here call them Salamanders.
”