Guest Essay: Spring is Here Though You Have to Look Closely
A guest essay by South Berwick resident Karen Eger
This is the time of year when I envy folks who live in town. On the south sides of their houses, close to the foundations, the snow has melted and plants start poking up a good two weeks before they do out here in the puckerbush. You have more birds too. The snow has been too deep to comfortably walk in the woods for some weeks now and too uneven for snowshoes. Unless you enjoy lurching in and out of the postholes your feet make when the thin crust on top gives way, walking has been confined to the roads.
Today I went out bushwhacking looking for Spring and came back with two soggy feet and some signs to report. The ice is still covering the ponds but the south facing cliffs are warming up the vernal pools at their feet. The sphagnum moss is St Patrick’s Day green where the ice has melted and though I didn’t spot any sign of frog or salamander, it won’t be long!
If you like wildlife watching and have never had the chance to see how the amphibians lay their eggs in the pools, take a walk in the next three or four weeks to take a look. Our area is littered with vernal pools and as long as they aren’t right at roadside, and are at least a couple feet deep this time of year, you are bound to see the kidney-shaped jellies that the salamanders lay and the round gelatinous balls of the woodfrogs. (Keep your dog and kids out of the water though. The eggs are laid and attached to branches at just the right height to survive and if they get dislodged they are doomed.) The other wildlife wonder of the vernal pool is the fairy shrimp. They tend to be in the pools with more leaf litter on the bottom than moss. And they are here!!!! Watch closely for several minutes on a sunny day and you might see their shadows leisurely cruising the bottom before you spot the fairy shrimp themselves.
Happy Spring!
Tags: , environment