New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Toadly Awesome Day Yesterday

Thursday 04/28/2011

What an awesome day I had yesterday. In fact it was toadly awesome. Did I mention I love toads? Well at least the trill of the distant toads. While I really do like the sounds of peepers and wood frogs that announce early spring, it is the trilling of toads that oozes into my soul like a gelatinous glob of frog eggs. Trilling toads bring warm spring days that carry us into summer.

I spent much of yesterday afternoon on yard clean up work as the temperatures quickly climbed into the mid 70's. My wife and I managed to finish the hardest part of the spring clean up of the windswept oak leaves that pile into the northeast corner of my stone wall. Daffodil poked brilliant yellow blossoms at us from patches scattered about my lawn. The smell of sweet warm earth hung in the air all about as we raked the detritus on to a tarp followed by the 100 yard tug to my compost pile. Worms skittered down into the earth as their leafy blanket was raked away. Yes the earth has come to life again after a seemingly endless winter. We did end our task with my first cook out and relaxation of dining on the open deck.

My life long friend Rick and I had plans to extend the day with an evening of fishing from his deck at river's edge a mile downstream of me. And so we did gleaning the last of the day's light catching fish and laughing of stories of friends and events we have shared countless times. Rick lit the fire pit to keep the twilight's chill at bay. A pair of wood duck and then a pair of mallards dashed up and down river respectively headed for their night roost at last light. Bats soon replaced them. All was peaceful as the spring peepers began their serenade.

We stopped back at my house around 10 to listen to the full chorus of toads out below my deck in the meadow. And then I heard it! The first trilling toad of the year. One glorious toad calling out to us as it seemed to announce that spring and soon summer are here. We continued to wring the most of this glorious day as I walked with Rick to the half way point between our houses to listen to the babbling brook that marks the halfway point. We lingered a while wondering sometimes how we have been so lucky to share 50 years of friendship. And I ended the day with a slow walk back to my house as my watch hands swept past midnight. Glow worms flashed intermittently along the road's edge as I moved north toward my home. I felt very satisfied that I had made the very most of a wonderful day.