Thursday, February 07, 2008

Peepers

Rain! We've finally been having some rain. Combined with overly warm weather, it brought out the Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer).



The video is here if you can't see it. (Peepers wait until it's getting dark to start peeping.)

This is in the area we call the swamp. Really it's just a pond that was allowed to go wild. It's been completely dry until just recently.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to find the name of the small purple flower that appears in early spring that seems to cover the ground in open areas. The flower is about 1 to 2 inches high and is all stem and petals, no leaves. The ground can take on a purple hue due to their numbers.

As a kid we took their appearance to be a sign that spring was on its way in that part of north Alabama. The flowers also appear here in Mobile.

Hurray for the rain!!

Anonymous said...

glad you are getting rain and not tornadoes

nina at Nature Remains. said...

I've got peepers, too!!!!!
What a treat to wake up to.

threecollie said...

Just hearing them is such a huge treat....can't thank you enough for brightening this icy, snowy day. It is hard to imagine that they are waiting out there under the ice in the horse pond..

Rurality said...

Anon, well I don't know! Usually if someone says the ground looks purple, it's henbit or purple dead nettle that they mean. (I posted a pic of them before here.) But that has leaves. Maybe one of the other commenters will have a clue.

Bill, we got lucky this time. They were south of us though.

Nina, ours were a no-show this morning, when it dropped down to about 25F! It warmed up during the day, so I'm curious to see if they'll be back again tonight.

3C, no problem! Of course I've been busy whining about the lack of snow here. :)

kris said...

Cool! I think I have to wait awhile (months??) to hear cool nature sounds here. (Although the wind was making quite a bit of noise lately - guess that is a nature sound, isn't it?)

I love the photos of the moss people. I'm planning a garden area along the driveway...don't think it would work, but would be totally cool!

kris said...

sheesh - usually i proof my comments so I don't use the word cool more than twice. sorry.

robin andrea said...

That is such a great sound. It sends me right into springtime. Wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Greetings,

Thanks to the wonders of the internet I've found the flower. It's called Houstonia pusilla or Small Bluets or Star Violets. It is one of the more common harbingers of spring. I've bet you've seen them all over. They are found in open areas such as lawns , roadsides, etc.


Have a good weekend.

Rurality said...

Kris, you're cool. :)

RA, unfortunately it has not stayed as warm so they have piped down a little. But I still heard a few last night.

Anon, oh, Bluets! Duh. Not sure why I didn't think of them. Some of them are more blue in color but I've seen them that are purple too.

KFarmer said...

Dave and I heard the little peepers in our pond the other day when we went down there to find our missing boat.. :)

Cathy said...

I've watched rain going through your area and smiled when I thought about your pleasure in watching it come down.

Anonymous said...

The peepers here get so loud that it can drive you crazy. People stop their cars just down the road from our house to roll down their windows and listen. But we're still two months away from their song.

Pamela said...

I would love to fall asleep by an open window that allows the peepers to serenade me.

Anonymous said...

Aww, no peepers for me yet! I just need to play that video over and over again! I love that sound!