Where have all the Salamanders gone?

I remember a time long ago

Back in the days when I was young still,

Around the family farm I would go, 

An adventurer seeking his thrill. 

I would flip stones and wood on the ground

And there in the damp earth it would be, 

Each and every time,  so quickly found:

A salamander just waiting for me!

I remember, how cool to the touch 

and yet how tough their skin seemed to be and how they would give me quite the fuss 

as they attempted to wriggle free 

I, being young, would always worry 

that holding them tight would cause them pain 

so I was always in a hurry 

to adore and then free them again.

No longer young, rather, an old man,

I find that I am a bit confused.

I still flip things whenever I can 

but beneath, I find the earth unused.

It's to the point I can't help but ask 

each time I flip, before I move on

In my now wholey unfruitful task 

Where have all the salamanders gone?