Thank goodness you weren't cutting the grass... Wonder why it came out of the pond - kinda an evolution-like move... :)

The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a common newt of eastern North America. It frequents small lakes, ponds, and streams or near-by wet forests. The eastern newt produces tetrodotoxin which makes the species unpalatable to predatory fish and crayfish.[2] It has a lifespan of 12 to 15 years in the wild, and may grow to five inches in length. These animals are common aquarium pets, being either collected from the wild or sold commercially. The striking bright orange juvenile stage, which is land-dwelling, is known as a red eft. Some sources blend the general name of the species and that of the red-spotted newt subspecies into eastern red-spotted newt (although there is no "western" one).
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_newt">source</a>

@mikenevitt, For sure sometimes we watch some amazing creatures in our garden and their appearance will going to inspire us to capture the picture.

And literally these pictures are really awesome, and it's reflecting as this creature is watching towards you with one eye when you were capturing.

And colour combination is making these pictures more beautiful and that means, the grass colour as green and yellowish essence making these pictures more natural.

Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂

Pretty sure that's a smooth newt. My kids used to bring them home years ago. You don't see them as much today.. Nice find

Looks like gieco

So cute! I love newts and salamanders. Sadly, just as with butterflies, we don’t see as many herein California anymore. People use too many pesticides.