I was getting a spot ready for planting garlic in September when I dug these little critters straight up out of the ground.
Great Plains Narrow Mouthed Frog (Gastrophryne olivacea)
This is a young narrow mouthed frog, and I say "young" because it was maybe 1/2 an inch in length. I've seen a few that were bigger, but these guys are usually on the small side. It amazed me that it came out of the dry, dusty soil looking like it had swam out of the water! They're not uncommon in Kansas, yet few people see them, mainly because of their nocturnal habits. Oddly, most of the sites on the internets call this animal a toad, but I'll stick by my trusty Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians.
Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)
This little guy was a hatchling, being only 4-5 inches in length. This one is a result of implantation of a few adults into my back yard many years ago.
Lovely plumage!
