I have often been "accused" of taking too long on nature walks. Stopping to look under a rotting log. Pausing to explore under a moss-covered rock. Lingering to see what treasures hide in the leaf litter at the base of a tree.
While this poking and prodding has cost me a few relationships, the rewards have generally outweighed the losses. (I mean who wants to hang out with someone who doesn't like exploring the life found under logs, rocks and leaf litter?)
Had I not stopped to search under the bark of a decaying Birch tree, I would not have happened upon this Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) -- and a few bugs, spiders, earthworms, centipedes, pill bugs, ants and all sorts of molds and fungi...
