The calendar may have shown the vernal equinox arriving on March 20, 2009, but by my clock (based on central Massachusetts time), it actually arrived yesterday evening when a loud and raucous chorus of frogs announced their awakening to the wonders of spring.
When our family lived on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, it was always the sound of the Spring Peeper, also affectionately called by islanders, the “Pinkletink” that declared the harbinger of better days to come.
This diminutive (thumb sized) amphibian’s entire future and that of successive generations, rests solely on the quality of sound that they make – the better the call – the better the score.
Their punctuated high-pitched peeping, are the mating calls of only the males.
Ecologist and author Adrian Forsyth once said, ““If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.”
So glad you’re back guys – even if you are noisy. The world truly needs a promising song! Good luck fellows and happy spring!
