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Home > Joe Farah > Joe Farah's Blogs > Worst Herping Season in Years - "Best of the Worst" Pics

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Worst Herping Season in Years - "Best of the Worst" Pics

Posted by Joe Farah at 8/13/2012 1:56:02 PM

Sometimes even the most experienced, talented, handsome and humble field herpers have a bad run. I was just looking back over my 2012 pics and it's become obvious that i'm largely a slave to my responsibilities. I didn't even see a western hognose snake this year... one of the most widespread and common species. Worst still, i let Nate down because i barely saw a single road-killed snake all year. With our new baby due in the next few weeks, my 2012 herping season is effectively over... actually, lets call it dead. Here are some of my favorite pics/finds of this season. These are all from Colorado:

Amphibs:

Lizards:

Snake Time:

And some scenery

For the record i saw a lot of other species... Rat snakes, longnose snakes, lined snakes, plains garters, many types of lizards, turtles and amphibians... but that gives you a taste

Hope Y'all Enjoyed

Comments:

View Oldest First

Emily Milton,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:27:28 PM
	Hi Joe :-) Of course I did! I really liked the lizards - some of them appeared to be smiling. I don't know what other seasons looked like, but I think this one still looks good :)

Sonja ,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:28:20 PM
	Looks like a pretty successful season to me! Thanks for the pics!

Pope of iHerp and Bread,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:30:57 PM
	You also didn't catch me any hogs. Of course you need to find them to catch them. But you certainly didn't let me down. Just knowing how happy your blogs make the other herpers here is good enough for me. But you better damn well pick up the slack next year, slacker.

George H. Wessel VII,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:34:54 PM
	Your baconty season makes other peoples great seasons look baconty. Like, amazingly baconty. Here . Now excuse me while I go make out with with the picture I have of you in my wallet.

Emily Milton,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:37:24 PM
	You left your wallet in my underwear drawer - again. So you'll have to wait.

Mystic Exotics ,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:52:29 PM
	Great pic Joe! Looks like a pretty good season to me!

George H. Wessel VII,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 2:54:39 PM
	NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael ,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 3:07:32 PM
	Much better then trying to herp on long island !

Stephanie Dobos,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 3:10:01 PM
	ugh. you make me feel like a bad herper for not field-herping. ::dies:: choke me with a (I learn quickly) - know what I saw this year? --- a bobcat. in my apartment complex. I FAIL AT HERPING! - someone take me! if this is a "bad" season for you, then I'd love to see what a GOOD season looks like. Wicked pics. Which camera do you use?

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 3:15:49 PM
	Aw you guys how no idea how nice it is to come back in from passing out cigarettes and mini liquor bottles to homeless people on my lunch break and read all these great comments. Love y'all. Hi Emily :)

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 3:40:24 PM
	Also, i'm working on putting together a video with clips from my recent excursions... just for you iherpers. Are you so excited?

George H. Wessel VII,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:09:08 PM
	I'm creaming my panties with anticipation.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:12:45 PM
	Well make sure you wash them before you return them to Emily. I stopped smoking, drinking and doing drugs so i have all this time and energy that needs an outlet. I finally decided on a song for the iherp dance video.

Emily Milton,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:14:52 PM
	Please tell me it's something by Conway Twitty.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:16:44 PM
	no emily, but equally as timeless

George H. Wessel VII,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:21:59 PM
	"so i have all this time and energy that needs an outlet" In about a month my friend that is not going to be a problem!

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 4:28:33 PM
	So true. I'm cursed with very strong parental instincts too.

Sarah Sears,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 6:07:56 PM
	those are awesome pics regardless!

Kelly Z,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 7:30:47 PM
	Joe, your pictures are fantastic! I'm jelly that you live in such a beautiful, herp filled place!

Chris McIntosh,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 7:44:30 PM
	Joe I would take your season over the season I've been having.

Lauren ,	Posted At: 8/13/2012 9:54:40 PM
	I wish I had your crap season; I haven't seen much of anything... Of course I haven't been out much.

L & A Lopez =0),	Posted At: 8/13/2012 11:11:57 PM
	Ive been considering taking a 45 minute drive to the Petroglyphs in search of some gila monsters. I have yet to commit. I too, fail at field herping.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 9:10:42 AM
	Thanks for the nice comments, guys.

Niki ,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 9:48:48 AM
	Your "worst photos" need to be a coffee table book. Seriously. My favorite is still the funky colored green snake.

Sarah Auzina,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 10:07:38 AM
	Wow. I wish I lived somewhere cool so I could go herping. Alas, I live in a wasteland and the closest I get is at the zoo. You make me want to live somewhere better. Your pictures are great. I look forward to many such pictures of your mini-herper once s/he emerges! What's the blue/yellow/red snake? That one's my favorite.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 10:08:30 AM
	Thanks Nikster, i appreciate that. I was shooting with my new camera this year and was trying to learn how to use it as i went. That blue colored green snake was pretty special. It got a lot of attention around here. Hopefully the spot where i found it will remain a secret

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 10:12:01 AM
	Thanks sarah. You posted that as i was posting the reply to Niki. There actually aren't many herps right where i live and i usually drive many hours and miles for good herping. To give you an idea... this past weekend i left friday after work and got back saturday night after driving 1200 miles all over eastern colorado, into kansas and oklahoma too. Barely saw a thing! I think the snake you're asking about is a variable ground snake.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 10:13:46 AM
	Or if it's the one that's upsidedown its a ringneck snake

Sarah Auzina,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 10:33:28 AM
	It was upside down, I think? Tail was red, the rest of the body was yellow. I seem to be good at asking questions while you're replying to someone else :) I'd probably have to drive to backwoods PA to find any herps, I think. Of course I'm not at all familiar with the area so I'd get lost and end up on the news as yet another idiot who gets lost in the woods... it'd be worth it if I got some good herp shots though. Of course I don't know a ground snake from a ringneck, so I'd have to do research and/or bring someone with me who knows something. My nephew says he sees garters in his back yard all the time though, so I guess I could start there. :) We do have plenty of wooded areas locally, I guess I just need to look.

Cynthia Chaplin,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 11:24:43 AM
	I haven't found a single snake so you're ahead of me! And a vastly superior photographer :D

Shannon ,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 4:50:27 PM
	ALL I've seen this year is roadkill..amazing photos!

Lisa ,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 5:08:27 PM
	VERY NICE!!!!!! I love the upside down snake too! Wonder why it was upside down??? Joe.....did you flip the snake??? lol

loudmetal,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 5:10:37 PM
	Nice finds!! If thats your worst,I really suck.

Chris McIntosh,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 6:10:11 PM
	Lisa it's a defensive posture.

SapphireTigress,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 7:48:51 PM
	absolutely amazing photos! I love ringneck snake pics, they are so colorful!

Rebecca ,	Posted At: 8/14/2012 9:31:16 PM
	all awesome. I mean, yeah, terrible field herping. terrible. whatever. ;P Stephanie!! You need to visit the beach dearie!!

L & A Lopez =0),	Posted At: 8/14/2012 9:56:58 PM
	Thanks Chris.. I was with Lisa...I thought Joe was snake tipping.

Jason ,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 11:40:15 AM
	Couldn't have been that bad bro...you got some GREAT shots.

Joe Montini,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 12:22:58 PM


Louie Sevin,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 12:32:25 PM
	Great pics thanks for sharing.

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 12:46:11 PM
	Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the nice comments. Regarding the ringneck, they display the underside of their back ends as a defense/distraction but if you flip them over they'll stay upsidedown... which is what i did. Thanks again for looking and for the nice comments

Mystique Reptiles,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 2:41:49 PM
	Awesome Pics! You just need to get one of those backpacks hikers use to put the baby in when you go field herping!

Rye Jones,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 3:20:48 PM
	The only thing missing from this post is a rubber boa, haha. Seriously though, amazing photos!

Rebecca ,	Posted At: 8/15/2012 7:48:50 PM
	LMAO @ "snake tipping" :D

Tanner & Daphne ,	Posted At: 8/16/2012 1:43:21 AM
	This makes all my finds look like crap!! What type of camera do you have?? It is incredible! Some of the best herping photos I have seen in a while!

Joe Farah,	Posted At: 8/16/2012 9:57:46 AM
	Thanks guys, i really appreciate it! Tanner, this year i was shooting with my first DSLR which is a Nikon D5100 (i think) and you can tell by the numerous out-of-focus shots that i can barely work the thing! Thanks again

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