1, Steve Walker provided the shirt off his back for this brood of beautiful babies’ protection.
2, Only 5 mm or so long at birth!
3, Close-up of a Cutie!
4, Stock photo of an adult Rough-skinned newt (courtesy of Oregon encyclopedia.org)
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
The main reason I fell in love with my land Reltonia — and then started buying it up (one parcel at a time) 40 years ago — is that I encountered the Rough-skinned newt.
Over the years, seeing those creatures feed, mate, crawl, swim — that is, pursue a very peaceful, Earth-friendly existence — I became more determined than ever to help not only the Rough-skinned newt, but ALL of the creatures of Earth…
On May 15, 2024 — 3 days ago — I was cleaning up “West Pond” (one of four ponds on Reltonia), when I accidentally knocked loose a gelatinous mass — a “nursery” for Rough-skinned newt eggs). I put the mass in a bucket as I finished performing maintenance on “West Pond”.
By the end of the day, I had cleaned up the pond, and was preparing to put the gelatinous mass back into the pond…
To my delight, when I looked into the bucket, I was astounded to find at least five or six BABY newts that had actually come out of the egg mass! in other words, this was the day that they were hatching!
They still had little external gills, and were all of 3 to 5 mm in length — so tiny and so cute!!! I was able to transfer those lovely creatures back into their home — back into West Pond!
This is what Earthsaving is all about, you know! Realizing that Earth is our Mother, our Home, — and our Responsibility are 3 concepts that need to be imprinted into the hearts and souls of people who wish to consider themselves as Earthsavers.
For the little newts whose births I witnessed, West Pond is THEIR home — as was it the home of their Mothers and Fathers. And it is MY responsibility to make sure this beautiful circle of life continues!
Steve Walker
Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.