Well, despite what we may want to happen, nature often has its own ways that have nothing to do with our wishes. After spending 5 hours with the hose running and filling the vernal pool in the woods, I returned three days later to find the pool empty again. Seems like our lack of rain recently not only dried up the pool, but also dried up the grounds, and the water we filled the pool with was almost immediately sucked into the earth. And once again, our little gelatinous egg sacs were left high and dry, just waiting for dessication or to become a scavenger's dessert.
And with that, Big Red and Little Red sprang into action. Hoisting a 5 gallon bucket on a rake handle, the two environmental stewards went into the muck of the pool and scooped out at least seven different egg clutches, depositing them in the bucket and heading up the road on a 3/8 mile hike to the other vernal pool (a.k.a. The Bog, since it never dries up in the spring and summer months). Once there, they relocated the eggs into the deep murky waters of the bog, so they might have a safe place to hatch, or else might have a place in the bog's food chain.
I have to say I'm proud of my guys. Not only did they see and recognize a threat to nature, but they took the time to do something about it. I think they appreciate the coolness of a jet-black salamander covered with day-glow yellow spots crawling across the forest floor, and can appreciate how such things come to be. Good job, guys.
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