More kids were added to my field group today due to the new guy being ill. More rain was added to the ground due to the clouds being full. While hiking out in the rain with our increased numbers, we found four different types of salamanders and newts, and one forlorn Fence Lizard clinging to a rock. The poor thing must have been hiding under something that got flooded, and forced to crawl up the rock to avoid being drowned. It was so cold that it barely moved at all when I picked it up. A little later, we found a dying newt. The poor thing was emaciated, but with no other external indication of what the problem could be. Perhaps parasites, or perhaps old age?

The kids' teeth were chattering by the time we got back to camp for lunch.

The clouds disappeared during our night hike, and when we walked out from under the trees, diamond bright stars were scattered above us. There's nothing like stars after the rain