I have seen a surprising amount of wildlife on the NET in Connecticut. I often see hawks soaring along the cliff edges. Every day I see deer bounding through the woods. Probably as a result of this, I have also seen a few tiny deer ticks crawling up my arm or leg. I hope one doesn’t give me Lyme disease.

I have seen a surprising number of toads and wood frogs. These latter make an incredible cacophony all night long. After some rain I saw a number of red efts on the trail. These brightly colored creatures are a land stage of the eastern newt. I always love seeing them on the trail. I also saw a number of different fungi. Some were brightly colored while others sported artful shapes. I love thinking about these marvels of nature which, like trees, contain much of their plant material underground where it goes unseen by human eyes. Yet this underground material is what holds the plant up. I sometimes think about this in terms of humans. Behind every loud or successful individual I imagine there are a lot of quiet ones who go unseen. I try to content myself with being kind in the world, even if I am not destined to be seen as “great.” I believe kindness is what keeps us going as a species.

In one swampy area I saw a number of painted turtles sunning on a hummock of grass. I was sorry to see them all jump off their perches and disappear into the water when I walked by. I was sad to see a few crushed turtles on some of the road walks.

In answer to one of the questions hikers get asked the most, “Yes, I have seen a bear.” One walked close by my tent when I was camped in Christal’s yard. In 2021, Avon, the town Christal lives in, reported over 630 bear sightings, more than any other town in Connecticut. It is why I opted to carry my bear proof food bag which I hang away from my tent each night that I am camping.

I have encountered the ferocious CT mosquitoes and no-see-ums which require me to cover up to sleep even on really hot, muggy nights. These tiny insects have a knack for getting though the mesh of my tent and make it impossible to sleep well. Every day I see vast amounts of very healthy looking poison ivy. I am very careful about where I go to poop on trail!

Perhaps the most spectacular creature I have seen thus far on this trail is the black rat snake. The largest snake found in Connecticut, this snake can reach up to eight feet in length. I have seen them four times. My first encounter seemed a bit fortuitous.

I was walking down the trail feeling hot, tired and discouraged. I found my old demons begin to percolate. I felt like a failure. It was while I was wondering if I had any value in this world that this large snake first crossed my path. I jumped. Needless to say my mind spin of negative thoughts was immediately interrupted. When I recovered from my surprise, I laughed. I realized that my thoughts had been like negative snakes in my brain. I thanked this snake for reminding me to work on changing my thoughts. The next time one crossed my path I did not even jump. I had quieted the snakes in my brain.