Ozarks: A Herp Atlas & Hatless

I was back down in the southern Missouri Ozarks recently to witness the fall migration of the ringed salamander.  I headed down on rather short notice, seeing as rain was in the forecast that particular evening.  When I arrived in St. Louis around 10:00 PM, I met up with my Missouri friend Pete and drove to a promising location.  The problem was that the rain never came.  The low pressure system veered off course to the south, leaving us dry as a bone.  Without rain in the picture, we had to change our plans.

The next morning we headed several hours southwest to a well-hidden limestone glade Pete had only visited once prior.  We had to walk through a dense prairie to reach the wood line, beyond which was a glade interspersed with stunted oaks and other thick vegetation.  The area was stunningly beautiful.  

The herping itself was painfully slow.  Our first snake was a common garter (Thamnophis sirtalis).

One of several ringneck snakes (Diadophis punctatus) found in a wooded area

A large adult western ribbon (Thamnophis proximus) Pete found

One of several rough earth snakes (Virginia striatula).  Not far from this snake, Pete and and found a young eastern collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) dart from under a rock and into a tangled mess of thorns and rock.

A decent-sized eastern coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) darted into a hollow within this outcrop.  Pete and I needed a break anyway, so we sat and waited at least thirty minutes to see if the snake would come back out.  It did not.

When we got back to the car, I must have taken my hat off and placed it on the car while chugging water.  Turns out that I didn't remember to take it back until we were about forty-five minutes back toward St. Louis.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am dead serious about my hats.  I don't have many, for several reasons but most importantly because I have a colossal head.  Most hats don't fit me comfortably.  And the hat I left there in that tiny dirt pull-over down some rural road in the Ozarks happened to be my "uncle hat".  It was a simple, dark blue cap with a mesh back and snap adjustment.  It was a gas station find at least twenty years ago.  And that hat has topped my head throughout the word, much to the mild embarrassment of my family due to its absolutely ragged condition.  

I could have insisted we go back to get it, but I opted not to.  Because, well, life moves on.