Another snake

Water Snake
Originally uploaded by texasrobo

I saw another snake today, hanging out in a puddle formed by a tire rut. I was probably two steps away from it when I noticed (the photo is a zoom in). I have no idea what kind of snake it is, just that it's not venomous. I suppose I should look these things up. Maybe I should find a volunteer research associate.
It was not nearly as wet as I expected. I guess the Rosharon area only got around a tenth of an inch of rain. I still wore my waders, which was good because I hit some wet areas, but nothing higher than my ankles.
Nothing to report archaeologically yet. It's probably just as well, as the client would rather not have any more sites and I'd rather not record anther crappy early 20th century trash scatter.
Speaking of, I put some photos up on my Flickr of the cistern and some of the bottles I found at the site in Fort Bend County last time I was out here. There's also pictures of an owl I saw yesterday. Check them out!

Froggies

Froggies
Originally uploaded by texasrobo

I had a much nicer encounter with Texas reptiles today. After finishing up our reconnaissance (and racing a huge storm system), we drove up to Ranger, Texas to check out a bridge replacement project. These frogs were everywhere, hopping around. At first, I thought it was just grasshoppers or water bugs, but then I finally saw them. They're really tiny, maybe an inch big and all legs.
I also saw a turtle that must have hurt his hind legs. It was practically vertical in the creek bed, and I thought maybe the rock he was against was just too steep to climb up. So I grabbed a stick and used it to scoot him up the rock, but then it just slid forward again and seemed stuck again. A few minutes later I had my shovel and picked the turtle up and looked at the back of his shell, and I couldn't see the feet or claws, and it never extended the hind legs. Eventually, I put it up on a more level surface and it scooted itself along using its front legs. I didn't really know what else to do.
This week has been pretty easy, even with walking almost 8 miles yesterday. We didn't find a damn thing, though, and the bridge we're checking out tomorrow before driving back to Austin seems like a low probability too.
I've had that damn "Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)" song stuck in my head for a couple of days now. The beat is catchy, but the rap is just horrible and the dance is pretty dumb. And yet, I find myself doing the Superman part randomly, for no reason.