A few cool pictures / stories attached.

[guidofatherof5]

Glad to see you are getting some snake activity at your place.

[ConcinusMan]

Cool. I can't get over how awesome that green snake is. Makes me want one!

[Mommy2many]

It's true.

November 26 and there are still tadpoles in a standing pool out back.

I just got one for scenting purposes with a net.

They must go down into the mud over the winter. I'm not sure how they survive freezing, the water pool is too shallow to not freeze solid.

We had the same thing the two years before that! Tadpoles in November! In the kids pool outside. They just never grew. In fact, we had emptied the pool and brought them all inside in the hopes of at least getting them to the frog stage. We had luck with that part but they would die soon afterwards.

[ConcinusMan]

They must go down into the mud over the winter. I'm not sure how they survive freezing, the water pool is too shallow to not freeze solid.

You pretty much have it right. They survive the same way turtles and the adult frogs do. Somewhere down there, deep in the mud, it does not freeze solid. Decaying organic matter produces heat. Go deep enough into the mud and it stays above freezing even if all the water is frozen solid. Just like turtles, their need for oxygen is essentially zero at those cold temperatures, and any minute oxygen needs for frogs/tadpoles can be taken care of by absorbing oxygen through their skin and turtles metabolism essentially stops and they just don't need oxygen. Same way a would be drowning victim survives longer without brain damage if the water is extremely cold. Bullfrogs (and other amphibians) have a sort of "antifreeze" in their blood that prevents their fluids from forming ice crystals which would expand and burst cells. In other words, they can survive being frozen solid and being essentially clinically dead. No respiration or heartbeat.

[infernalis]

Glad to see you are getting some snake activity at your place.

So far 1. Dekayi, 1. Garter & 1. Milk Snake (Triangulum)

[Mommy2many]

That's 3 more than me

[infernalis]

Saw a nice milk in my chip pile....

[guidofatherof5]

Beautiful lilac.

[RedSidedSPR]

Is he in the tree? I cant see him.

Nice find.

[RedSidedSPR]

If so it reminds me of this guy. Black racer.