This evening, the salamanders walked. It was the first spring day with warm heavy rain. Tom and I took the boys out to Henry Street with flashlights to catch a glimpse as they pass through the salamander tunnels under the road. We waited until after dark, mostly because the boys would enjoy it the more. The rain had slacked off to a sprinkle. There was a small group of other salamander afficionados. I remember one year seeing more than 50 people at the tunnels. One of the other children was a girl in Charlie's class. At first, we didn't see any salamanders -- just a wood frog. We walked down to the other tunnel and checked there, but didn't see any. We walked back to the first tunnel and someone saw one a little up the slope from the tunnel. Then another! Then another! Little grayish amphibians with two rows of yellow spots, the first two spots, on the head, almost orange. They wriggled up out of the leaves and marched majestically toward the tunnel. We watched until the rain started to pick up again, and then got back into the car and drove Tom home.