Welcome to One of the Greatest Shows on Earth!

A miracle - or hundreds of them, perhaps! - is happening right now in the Barrens. The ponds are all full up again, and they are hopping with hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of amphibians! We had errands in town and my husband dropped me off in early afternoon by one of the Scotia parking lots. It was a hop, skip, and a jump from there to see the show.

But you HEAR it first. The frogs are singing! They are singing a song of joy! Honestly, I stood in amazement, and my heart leapt at the sights and sounds: frogs, everywhere! Hopping. Swimming. Lying quietly on top of the water. Chasing each other. Mating. Making more baby frogs. Oh, we shall have amphibians galore now!!! Say, wasn't she that girl in that one Bond movie?

I think a lot of them are wood frogs, with those tiny black masks. But I don't see a mask on this one, so I can't confirm for sure what kind of frog it is. But it made me laugh to think of it as the amphibian emcee: Welcome, welcome, to spring in central Pennsylvania's vernal ponds. Step right up and see one of the greatest shows on Earth!

My soundtrack song is the Rolling Stones, with Jumpin' Jack Flash. Mick, Mick, Mick, whattaya sayin'?

Preview for tomorrow: I'll show you my frog armada, and I've got a happy-ending story to tell about one of our local fawns! Tune in!