Winter kept its chilly grip on Arkansas well into March. First there was February, which was bone cold and icy. And then just as the first days of March gave promise of spring, a final winter storm slashed down from the Arctic on March 5th to dump six inches of sloppy snow.
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| March 5th Snowfall - (taken with Fire HD6) |
That was followed by about a week of steady, soaking showers.
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| Even Frogs Tried to Stay Out of the Rain |
But none of that is really bad news. The late snowfall left the ground saturated and filled the ephemeral pools in which Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs prefer to breed. The rain got all the waterfalls running and brought the lake level back to normal. And now warm weather has brought out the Southern Leopard Frogs.
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| These photos were all taken at about 100x from a distance of 40 feet |
So far I've heard Spring Peepers, Southern Leopard Frogs, and Dwarf American Toads at my pond--all of them more active during the daylight hours than after dark (perhaps because it cools off quickly after dark and these are ectothermic critters).
I'm not seeing spring flowers yet except for daffodils and crocuses, but a few butterflies and bees are beginning to beat the air and life is good.
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| Taken with Fire HD6 and macro lens |
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| Taken with Fire HD6 |
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| Mourning Cloak - Fire HD6 an macro lens |
Update 3/17/2015: It stayed warm last night--64 degrees at 8pm and still in the mid-50s by dawn. As a result the frogs were partying hard all night. Here are a couple of close-ups of Dwarf American Toads.
