Hot Vernal Pool Action up at Dry Hollow Camp

My husband and I had talked about going somewhere far, but circumstances didn't work out that way. So in the morning, I went for a several-mile hike in the Scotia Barrens. In the afternoon, he joined me in a hike at the former Dry Hollow Camp property, a short drive from our home. By the end of all of it, it was about a six-mile day for me!

Sometimes called "Scotia West," due to its proximity to the Scotia Barrens (that I play in almost every day), the land is now part of Rothrock State Forest. This acquisition occurred last spring, thanks to the combined efforts of ClearWater Conservancy and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry.

We'd been there a few times since then, but this time, instead of following the main road up to the camp itself, we veered off to the left in advance of the camp, and headed up the hill toward the ridge. It was an exploratory effort, as we hadn't seen that part of the property in any level of detail yet.

We walked up the hill, found the end of a closed road, and that's where we set up our chairs and our tunes box to spend a few hours in the afternoon sun. T. Tiger came out of my daysack and wore a fancy acorn hat for the day. He was the picture of sartorial perfection, as always!

Around 2:20 in the afternoon, an emergency siren rang, probably somewhere in Warriors Mark, which isn't far away. Imagine our surprise and delight, as the siren rang more than a half-dozen times, when an owl answered it back! Every time the siren rang, the owl hooted! It was awesome!

Then a tree fell in the forest, and we were actually there to hear it. And as it turns out, the owl wasn't the only one the siren woke up in the woods: a rather small, skinny groundhog trundled past, and disappeared down the trail at top speed.

We wanted to explore some more, so around 4, we set off up the trail along the ridge. "See that bug?" my husband asked, pointing to something floating around in the air in front of us. "No, that is not a bug. That is OUR FIRST BUTTERFLY OF THE YEAR!!! Mourning cloak - Hello, beautiful!!" I yelled. The butterfly was small and fast and dark and did not permit me any photos, though it did escort us part of the way down the trail.

The trail we were on, that we hoped might take us eventually back to the car, dead-ended at a vernal pool right on top of the ridge. Now, I've seen plenty of vernal pools in my day, and they - like other ponds - tend to be more low-land sorts of things. So I was startled to see them there. But hey, we'll take what we can get. We found the empty shell of a turtle nearby, so that pond at the end of the road is now christened Turtle Shell Pond.

We continued our hike - bushwhacking downhill through the weeds for part of it, when the road didn't take us where we wanted - and found several more vernal pools. The fabulous news of the day is that not only did we see our first butterfly, but we saw and heard our first spring peepers!

In fact, it was a regular peeper party at an even larger pond at the top of the ridge, depicted in this photo. The sound was deafening, until you'd draw close, and then they'd all go silent. Weird but funny. But if you sit quietly a while, the party starts up again, and you can watch the action.

I tried to photograph amphibians based on the motion I was seeing, but I failed. So no, I don't have any pictures of our first butterfly, or our first amphibians, but here is a picture of one of the vernal pools in the former Dry Hollow Camp property where all the hot action is taking place these days! Party party party!

So, yeah, kick it! My soundtrack song is the Beastie Boys, with Fight for Your Right to Party. Party on, amphibians! Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!