Long toed salamander in my wild yard

[Nancy Betty Baumeister]

I moved a pile of cardboard and found this wonderful creature underneath. I hope they will be happy in my tiny yard with lots of rotting wood to burrow under. From what I read it is unclear if this individual is heading towards water to breed, or if female possibly has already laid eggs and is done. I read that they might head towards water in October or November, but they breed in February in King County,  Washington so probably the same timing here. Crystal Lake (an old Willamette river channel which floods and increases in size in winter, then shrinks back but doesn’t dry up completely in summer) is about 200 feet away. https://californiaherps.com/noncal/northwest/nwsalamanders/pages/a.m.macrodactylum.html

Nancy (Betty) Bee

 Blog: https://nancybird375.wordpress.com/

"A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." -Lao Tzu