Let’s Not Let This Slip Through Our Fingers

Photo taken by me, “Top of the World Salamander”

The Earth is losing many of its amphibians, so my family and I were thrilled to find this salamander atop Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the Eastern United States. We held it only for a moment with chemical free hands, and then placed it back into the patch of moss where my son had spotted it. It crawled back under the undergrowth, until its clipped tail was no longer visible, going about its day living its…