A Red-Spotted Newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. I met this beautiful creature along a path at Lake Loree at the Sunny Hill Resort and Golf Course in Greenville, New York during my recent Memorial Day trip up to the Catskill Mountains. This is a juvenile, called an "Eft," and is 1-3 inches long. The adults are green and are 3-5 inches long. They secrete a poisonous toxin to warn predators to "lunch elsewhere."

This brings back happy memories of finding these when I was a Boy Scout at summer camp when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was so nice to find them again!