Frog Eggs and Vernal Pools

Yesterday I went down to the pond, to see if there were any results from the loud quacking love calls of the male wood frogs (which I wrote about here, and you can listen to here). And indeed there were: large masses of translucent eggs floating near the edge of the pond.




Within each egg you can see the small black dot that will grow into a tadpole, then a frog. The little specks will grow larger, we'll be able to see a small tail take shape, and then they'll burst out of the egg. I'll try to get some photos as the process unfolds. Yesterday, I almost ended up in the pond myself while trying to get this closeup: I slipped down and had to brace myself with my right arm in very cold water up to my elbow while holding my camera out of the water with my left; I felt very silly.




Just to the south of my pond, on my neighbor's land, I noticed a beautiful wonderland of moss covered rocks and vernal pools, small shallow areas of water that appear in the woods each spring and later dry up. Some are large enough to attract frogs and insects to mate in them, but I think these are too small for that. Instead, they provide intense visual pleasure as they gather and reflect light and the surrounding woods. Being in this little section of woods made me feel as if I was in a fairy tale, and that at any moment a mysterious benevolent spirit would appear.