Autumnal Pool??

So, do I still call this a vernal pool if it lasts until autumn? Usually these little wet spots don’t make it through July, but this year they are still going strong on September 1. Last evening I found several of them, usually laden with frogs.

And speaking of frogs...last year I walked around Roundtop’s newest pond and counted 70-couple frogs leaping ahead of me in a kind of froggy ballet, one after the other. That was nothing. This year so many leap into the pond at the same time that I can’t begin to count them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 70 frogs in 30 feet.

Dog and I walked along the edge of the pond last evening for just 100 yards or so, and I know we saw hundreds of them. This summer’s rainy weather was no doubt right up their alley. I’d like to think all the frogs would draw plenty of unusual shorebirds to the mountain top, but since I haven’t seen many yet, I doubt that will happen. The water level is higher than it usually is by this point in the season, and shorebirds crave mudflats.

Last night the temperature dropped into the late-September range. This morning it was 52 at the cabin. The local screech owl was screeching near the cabin. I heard it when I woke up to pull a blanket over me in the middle of the night. I think it’s going to be an interesting fall—cold weather the last night of August, lots of rain in the summer. I don’t know what the fall will bring, but I’m looking forward to seeing how the new season plays out and how it is different.