More fauna and flora

In the past month and a half both families have made two visits to the property - primarily to meet with different contractors onsite. One Toman trip was a camping trip (more on that later) but with both trips we were able to document more wildlife and interesting trees. 

We saw nearly a dozen eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina caroline) just hanging out in weird places - like right on the edge of our overlook. They blended right into the fallen leaves and I was always worried I was going to step on one. 

Asher was most excited to find this eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and had to read up on it when we got home. Apparently this is the juvenile stage and as an adult they are green and live full time in water. 

I was excited to see a lot of Sassafras saplings (Sassafras albidum) but I have yet to find the seed source parent!

We also discovered native persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana) along the driveway and the Mudricks sampled the fruits with the verdict: not great, dry in the mouth. Perhaps they need to be dried before consuming?