Pursuit of Hoppy-ness / My Frog Armada

When my husband and I were first dating, back in the mid- to late 80s, he lived in Philipsburg and I lived in State College. He was driving a yellow '73 Chevy Nova, and I had a robin's-egg-blue '74 Ford Torino. We often spent time hiking on Sandy Ridge, which was about mid-way in between us.

In more recent times, we started going back to Sandy Ridge, and we found a place to park the car so that we could walk to the woods on top. There were big fields of milkweed that were home to SO MANY BUTTERFLIES. So many! We would sit in our chairs and watch them. I spent many happy hours there.

In fall of 2022, there was a big fire up on Sandy Ridge. It burned approximately 1,445 acres of land, which was a pretty big deal. We watched the news in horror. Had the fire taken some of our favorite places and destroyed them? We were afraid to know the answer.

Well, guess what. On this day, we finally went back to Sandy Ridge on a reconnaissance mission. How were the woods doing? Had our fields on top where the butterflies are born been taken from them, and from US? Maybe this is a selfish response, but let me report that we were absolutely DELIGHTED to find the areas that we love untouched by fire! 

It had been warm and sunny at home, and we talked about wearing shorts for the day. I'm glad we didn't. Up on Sandy Ridge, it was breezy and cool. By the afternoon's end, we had each put on all of the clothes we had with us in our daysacks!

When my husband had suggested the trip the night before, I thought: hmm, but what about the fire? And then I quickly remembered a small but important vernal pond on top of that hill, where the frogs congregate in springtime. Would there be frogs? There was some percentage of hope. MAYBE!

Well, we heard the news before we got there: the sound of spring peepers, peeping. The din was not deafening but it was significant. You could hear it 100 yards from the tiny pond, which was only 50 to 75 feet in diameter. My husband's eyes opened wider; DID I HEAR IT?  Why, YES, I DID!

The very good news from the top of Sandy Ridge (where there is absolutely NO business being a pond, on top of a hill like that, but there it was) is that spring has sprung and the great amphibian follies have begun!

We heard the pond, and I walked forward slowly. Stopped. SAW frogs moving; the surface, roiling. Took a short video or two of the din, just in case. And then, as I suspected, as we got closer, the noise stopped entirely. Nary a frog to be seen!

So we parked our chairs a short distance away and read our books, and waited. The amphibian song built back up again, and I couldn't help smiling. I turned to my husband: "What sweet music they make," I whispered. Then I crept, quietly, through the woods and up behind a big tree, where I shot the photos you may see here.

First, above is a photo of two lusty amphibians propagating their species. Hooray! It was like a singles bar on Friday night. Everybody was putting the moves on everybody else. At one point, there were so many frogs (mostly wood frogs, I think), you could hardly count them!

The ground nearby was quite flat. My husband, the backpacker, always on the alert for campsites, commented, "It's too bad we can't camp here" (but it's gameland there, and so it's against the rules). I observed that setting up camp right by a vernal pond would guarantee really LOUD overnight sounds. But anytime anyone or anything approached, they'd alert you by falling silent. 

"I could have a whole pond of guardian frogs," I said. "Not guardians," he said; "but maybe an early warning/alert system." Me: "You call 'em what *YOU* want. I'll call 'em what *I* want." 

So in the extras is a photo of what I'm calling My Frog Armada. Look at all of those loyal little faces in that photo. "We've got your back," that one frog on the lower left seemed to be saying, as it grinned at me. Well, anyway, it FELT that way to me! (Hmm. Or perhaps he was asking, "So, do you come here often?")

It was a chilly and breezy day, but full of amphibian joy, and I am so glad we went. Our favorite area there is fine, some of the best butterfly grounds I know of are fine, and our frogs and other amphibians are FAR BETTER THAN FINE! And that is the report from Sandy Ridge!

I've got two photos, so here are two songs. For my photo above, I've got Jay Ferguson, with Thunder Island. For my defenders, my Frog Armada, my rescuers and protectors, in the extras, I've got U2, with Love Rescue Me, from the wonderful concert film Rattle and Hum.

Quote of the day. Husband: If there were TWO ANIMALS screwing in the woods, 5000 square miles from anywhere, my WIFE would find them and take their picture!