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Salamander Mating--An Event in Two Acts

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Salamander Mating--An Event in Two Acts
Posted: Fri 08 Apr , 2005 2:40 am
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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This is not an attempt on my part to write anything wonderful. This is actually just a really long post that might possibly qualify as creative writing. :neutral: So I don't need to be told that it's boring in places or that it could use some tightening up or anything like that. It's basically just my thoughts, written down for my online friends to read. :)

(Also, I apologize for the formatting. It looks a lot better in Word.)

Lali


Salamandering – An Event in Two Acts

Cast of Characters:

Me
Scott*, my husband (not appearing in this story, but important nonetheless)
Elizabeth*, my oldest daughter, age 9
Colleen*, my youngest daughter, age almost 6
Faith*, my best friend
Brad*, my best friend’s husband
Joy*, Faith’s sister
Rose*, Faith’s oldest daughter, age 9
Andrew*, Faith’s son, age 7
Elaine*, Faith’s younger daughter, age 4
Danielle*, Faith’s newborn daughter
Meg, my dog (actual name used!)
Joshua, (actual name) the naturalist

*Name changed to protect identity.

Note: Very little dialogue is actually verbatim from the actual events. My memory is not good enough for that!

Setting:

Thursday evening, March 31st. Warm (55F), clear, and breezy.

Act I

Joy: So, Brad, are we going to the salamander mating thing or not?

This is the fifth time or so that he’s been asked, and he has yet to give an answer of any kind. I don’t mind, though; he and I operate according to the same “delay decision-making for as long as possible” principle.

Brad: (glances at clock, thinks for a minute or two) Yeah, we’ll go.

Younger kids run off in excitement, with Andrew shouting, “We’re going to the salamander meeting! Yay!!”

Me: (also looking at clock, just now realizing how late it has gotten) Holy cow! We’ve got to get moving, don’t we?

And so begins the mad scramble of getting the kids ready to leave. Faith elects to stay home with her newborn, Danielle. I suspect this is merely a convenient excuse to avoid any possibility of nature, mud, or fresh air.

Elizabeth: I’m going to borrow Rose’s jacket, is that okay?

Me: No, you don’t need to…

Elizabeth: But I’ll be cold!

Me: We’re going to go ho…

Elizabeth: I don’t have a jacket in the car!

Me: Stop interrupting me! (I give her the “death glare.”) If you’d let me finish, you’d know that we are going to stop by home first to drop Meg off.

Elizabeth: Oh. (slight pause) Can I ride with Rose?

Me: (trying to gather up all of our accumulated junk from the day and not lose my cool) Yes, I don’t care. Just go get your stuff and get ready.

Colleen: (overhearing that Elizabeth gets to ride with Rose) Can Andrew ride with us?

Me: Yes, that’s fine, if it’s okay with his parents.

Andrew: (overhearing conversation) Can I ride with Colleen?

Faith: Yeah, that’s fine, just go get your coat and boots.

Elaine: (in a very high-pitched voice) I wanna ride with Colleen, too! I can’t reach my coat. I don’t know where my shoes are.

Et cetera

Me: Colleen, did you go to the bathroom?

Colleen: (lets out exasperated sigh—she hates going to the bathroom) Fine. I’ll go try. (stomps off)

Me: (to Elaine) Did you go to the bathroom?

Elaine: (with a very sweet smile) Yes.

Me: When?

Elaine: A while ago.

Me: Did you go after dinner?

Elaine: Maybe.

Me: (raising eyebrow) Go again. (Faith says nearly the same thing as the same time.)

Elaine: (giggles, but finally leaves) Okay.

After this, there is about 10 more minutes of general chaos, fighting over coats, fighting over boots, with comments like, “What boots am I going to wear?” (We’re stopping by home, remember?) “I can’t tuck my jeans into my boots.” (Let me show you how. There, see? “Yeah, but now it’s bothering me.”) Etc. But we finally get out of the door, minus Faith and Danielle.

Fairly uneventful trip home to drop off the dog, gather my kids’ boots and coats, and last minute potty breaks. Seems everyone had to go again in the 20 minutes it took to get from Faith’s and Brad’s house to get to mine.

And now it’s a short drive to the park….

Arrival at the park. I notice that there are only 2 other cars in the parking lot, which makes me start to wonder.

General chaos, again, as the kids pile out of the cars, fight over boots, whine about not having water bottles, not wanting to put on coats, etc. But it is a beautiful warm spring night, with bright stars pinning back the black velvet of the sky, and the promise of new life floating on the breeze, so I’m doing my best to keep it all together.

To myself, though, I think, “Surely Joshua would be here by now, wouldn’t he?” I begin a frantic search for a flashlight, on the off chance that Joshua is not going to be here for some reason.


Rose: Look! I can see the Big Dipper!

Kids: Where?

Rose: There! See?

Colleen: Rose, do you know that the Big Dipper is just part of a bigger thing, the Big Bear?

I smile, impressed that she remembered this from our science lesson on constellations.

Kids: Really? Wow.

Andrew: Look at that really big star there!

Me: It’s pretty, isn’t it? It’s not a star, though. It’s a planet—Saturn, I think.

General oohing and ahhing.

Me: Do you guys hear the Spring Peepers? That sound is from a bunch of teeny, tiny frogs, each only about as big as a quarter. Do you hear them?

Kids: No. What is it? Where are they? What do they sound like? I can’t hear anything.

Me: Well, stop talking. Shhhh. Everybody stop and be quiet. (They start quieting down.) There. Now listen. Do you hear that?

(Just as the chatter dies down and we can actually begin to hear the frog chorus, the silence is interrupted by a loud fart.)

We all burst into giggles.


Elaine: Excuse me!

Me: (still laughing) Nevermind, let’s go see if Mr. Joshua is waiting for us back at the pavilion.

Traveling down the woodland path toward the pavilion…

Colleen: (grabbing my hand and velcroing herself to my side) Mommy, I’m scared. Turn on the flashlight.

Me: Honey, I don’t want to turn it on yet. We’re lucky I even found this one in the van, and I don’t know how long the batteries will last. Besides, don’t be scared. Isn’t this cool, to be in the woods at night?

Colleen: No, it’s dark and I’m scared.

Me: It’s not that dark. You can still see things.

Colleen: I’m still scared.

Me: (turning all soft and motherly) Oh, well, you need to get over it.

Joy: (decides to pick up the slack of my less-than-nurturing attitude) Oh, I know guys. We can start singing.

“Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens…”

Brad and I look at each other (there actually is enough light to see each other). I smile and he smiles, shaking his head. By the way, Joy has no children of her own yet.

“…these are a few of my favorite things….”

(I actually think they’re skipping back there, too.)

Me: Well, here’s the pavilion, and there’s no one here either. Huh.

Brad: You know, I think that email said that the thing was tomorrow night.

Me: (dumbfounded) What?!

Brad: Yeah, I thought it said something about last night, tomorrow night, and Saturday night.

Me: But not tonight?

Brad: No.

Me: (smacks Brad’s shoulder) Why didn’t you tell me that before we came out here?!

Brad: (laughing) I don’t know. I thought you knew.

Me: No! Oh geez. Now I feel like an idiot.

Brad: Well, I couldn’t have come tomorrow night or Saturday night anyway.

Me: Yeah, but you could’ve told me! (Now we’re both laughing.) Fine, well, we’re here and we’re going to go find some salamanders or die trying.


We press onward, despite breaking park rules by being out here after dark. We pass the blackened prairie on our right, the acrid stench of smoke still lingering in the air. I answer a dozen questions about this, before we find ourselves turning off the path to the pond.

Kids: Is this it? Are we here? Where are the salamanders? I don’t see anything. It’s really loud here! Etc.

Me: All right. Shh! We’re just going to have to look for them. (Now I’m having to shout above the din of the frogs.) Geez! Can you believe these Spring Peepers?

As we approach the pond, the sound of the frogs is ear splitting, worse than a punk rock concert! Immediately, the kids start complaining. “Ow, this hurts!” “Why are they so loud?” “Where are they? I want to see them.”

It doesn’t take me long to spot the first Spring Peeper. Everyone crowds around, clamoring for a better look. Joy reaches out a hand to grab Andrew, to keep him from tumbling into the pond. Brad grabs Elaine before she falls into the pond as well; he hoists her up onto his shoulders. Elizabeth pushes Colleen, who pushes her back. “Hey!” “Hey, yourself. You’re in my way.” “Well, I was here first!”


Me: Stop! (I do the Vulcan death grip on Elizabeth’s shoulder.) Knock it off and look at the frog.

The beam of the flashlight is illuminating the tiny frog as he puffs his throat sac in and out. “Where is he?” “I don’t see him.” “What are we looking at?”

Me: Right there. Look, he’s right in the middle of the circle of light. He’s tiny. (I jiggle the flashlight a bit, attempting to point him out.) Do you see him?

Silence. Then…

Rose: Oh! I see him!

Elizabeth: Me, too! Look at him!

Both: He’s cuuuute!!!

The younger kids continue their chorus of, “Where? I don’t see him!” But, finally, even they all spot him. I step into the pond, carefully reaching out, trying to grab him. Unbelievably, I do, and we all gather around to study him.

Then the hunt is on! As I search the water for signs of life, I have all of the kids following behind me, pointing out every twig, “Is that something?!”, every underwater plant, “Is that a salamander?”, and, occasionally, an actual lifeform, i.e., a Spring Peeper. I let them each take a turn catching one, and we admire each and every one of them for as long as they stay in someone’s hand. The scenario is pretty much as follows:


“I caught one!”
“Really? Let me see.”
(All gather around frog-catching kid)
“Oh, he’s cute. Look at him.” They all reach out to touch him.
(Frog makes desperate leap for his life.)
“No one move! I think he’s on your boot, __________!”
“Where?” Child starts to lift up foot.
Me: “No! Don’t move. Let me see if I can find him.” Operation Frog Rescue commences, target is eventually located, and then removed to safe location.
Repeat scenario.

We eventually circle the pond, my weak flashlight doing its best to pierce the murky water. I notice a patch of light out of the corner of my eye. I think, “What in the world?!” and turn to see Joy—punching buttons on her cell phone.

Me: What are you doing?

Joy: What? Huh? Oh, text messaging.

Brad and I shake our heads and start laughing. Only Joy would be on her cell phone at a time like this.

Another family is at the pond, too, and they seem to be having better luck than we do. Their flashlight has a red filter on it, which cuts through the water better than regular white light. They call out, “Hey! Do you guys want to see a salamander?”

All of us: Yeah! (And we all rush over to where they are standing. Sure enough, there’s a spotted salamander, still as can be, under the water. We are all duly impressed.)



(We thank them, general discussion follows, and the family moves off.)

Me: Hmmm, that red filter thingie worked pretty well. I wonder if I have something that we can put over my flashlight. (I dig around in my coat pocket, not feeling anything that would work.) Hey, Joy, do you have anything red and see-through we can use?

At this, Brad, Joy, and I burst into laughter.

Me: Okay, that didn’t sound good. Nevermind!

Eventually, we spot one more salamander, who swims off like a snake under the relative glare of my flashlight. We let the kids explore for a while longer, then decide to call it a night. So that’s all. Two salamanders and a ton of Spring Peepers for all of our troubles, but I’m glad we came anyway.

We slowly walk back to our cars, under the sparkling night sky, with the fading frog chorus behind us and Elaine’s sleepy rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” a counterpoint to our footsteps.


*************************************************


Cast of Characters:

Me
Joshua, naturalist and my idol (for nature stuff)
Several families
Older man and woman, with blindingly-bright fluorescent light
Obnoxious woman in white coat

Setting:

Friday night, actual night of Salamander Program, cold, windy, rainy—very rainy


Act II

The rain has almost deterred me, but I decide at the last minute that I really want to go. I know salamanders prefer rainy nights, plus, well, I know I can always learn a lot from Joshua—who will actually be there tonight! So I grab two flashlights (one rigged with a red cellophane filter), extra batteries, gloves, and my dorky birdwatcher hat. This time, as I pull into the parking lot, I can see that there are many people here, including Joshua. I chuckle to myself, ruefully. “You’re such an idiot,” I think.

After taking entirely too long to get my boots laced up, my coat on just right, my raincoat, extra batteries, and hat stuffed into my official volunteer naturalist fanny-pack (which I promptly spill on the ground and have to re-stuff), I finally venture over to the group of people encircling Joshua. He is perched on a large rock in their midst giving an impressive lesson on salamanderdom—the naturalist god on high. I slip quietly behind him, enjoying listening to the questions of the kids and parents.

Kid #1: We were here last week, and we saw some frogs mating.

Joshua: Oh, that’s neat.

Kid #1’s brother: Yeah, they were on top of each other! And they were… (His mom reaches out and nervously pulls him back under the umbrella. “Okay, honey, that’s enough!”)

I’m highly amused by this.

Joshua shows everyone his teaching pet, a spotted salamander, just like the ones we are hoping to see tonight. It’s large, about 6-7 inches from nose to tail.

Joshua: I’m hoping that we’ll see these guys tonight. These are spotted salamanders or mole salamanders, and they spend the rest of their year underground. They only come out for mating. One of our volunteers saw over 50 of them out last week, but I don’t know if we’ll see any tonight.

Me: We saw two when we were out here last night.

Joshua: (Turns around) Last night?

Me: Yeah, we were out here last night.

Joshua: Mary Beth? Is that you? (He peers through the dark and the rain.)

Me: Yeah. Hi.

Joshua: You saw two last night?

Me: Yep. And a ton of Spring Peepers.

Obnoxious Lady in White Coat (OLWC): Are we allowed to come out here on our own at night?

Joshua: Well, no, actually, no one’s allowed to be out here on their own after dark.

OLWC: So we’re not allowed to be out here at night on our own?

Joshua: No, this is the only park that doesn’t have a gate, but, still, no one’s supposed to be here after dark. (And then he goes into a long discussion on why—drug dealers, sex offenders, etc.)

I’m thinking, “Great.” I try to disappear again under my dorky birdwatcher hat and coat hood.

Joshua then goes on to explain the mating process of salamanders. In summary, the male salamanders deposit sperm packets, called spermatophores, in the water. When the females arrive at the pond, the males begin to nudge them. If the female likes the way a particular male nudges her, she will follow him to his spermatophore. She then places the spermatophore inside her cloaca, where internal fertilization occurs. Afterwards, she will lay her eggs in the pond, which can be clearly seen as cloudy masses in the water.

So not much to see for the actual “mating” process, but I’m still hoping to see a ton of salamanders. “I’d better see something, standing out here in the freezing cold with the steady rain soaking through my coat!” I think to myself.

Finally, Joshua says it’s time to leave, and the whole group begins to venture down the path. Joshua is walking next to me now.

Joshua: So you were here last night, huh? (He laughs.) You just admitted to the whole group that you broke the park rules!

Me: Yeah, you were supposed to cover for me! Say I had special permission or something. (We chuckle.) No, really, I’m sorry. I misread your email and thought the program was last night.

Joshua: Oh, I’m sorry!

Me: No, don’t you be sorry. I’m the one who can’t read. Anyway, I’m sorry we went out, but I was already here with 5 kids who were dying to see some salamanders. There was another family here, too. I guess neither of us could read.

Joshua: Don’t worry about it. I think it’s funny. Anyway, did you see the tiger salamander?

Me: No, just two spotteds and a bunch of Spring Peepers, like I said. They were way louder last night than tonight, too.

Joshua: Well, we have a couple of barred owls calling tonight. Maybe we’ll get to hear them….

(General geeky naturalist/naturalist-wannabe conversation follows, which I won’t bore anyone with!)

We reach the pond soon enough, and it’s a mad scramble to find a spot on the slippery banks. I find a Peeper right away, which I catch and show to the people around me who have never seen one before. Someone sees a salamander in the water after a while, but it is too far out for Joshua to reach with the net. More time passes. Another salamander is found, but Joshua misjudges the distance with the net and we still have no salamander to observe up close and personal.

After being blinded twice by the old man with the fluorescent light, I decide to go off on my own to check out the overflow creek which comes out from behind the pond. I turn on my flashlight, but the mist is thick in its beam. I have to wait for it to clear, but as soon as it does I see a big, fat spotted salamander half-submerged on the rocks.

Me: Hey! I’ve got one! I’ve got one! (I switch to the red flashlight, in the hopes of not scaring it away by the bright light.)

Old Man with Fluorescent Light (OMFL): Where? Do you have one?

Me: Yeah, look right there! (I wiggle my flashlight.)

OMFL: (Shines blinding light at salamander) Oh yeah, that’s a big one.

Me: Turn the light off! You’re going to scare it away. Can you go get Joshua?

OMFL: (Rushes off to find Joshua)

Large crowd soon descends the back bank of the pond, with Joshua in the lead, followed closely by the old man. “We’ve got one over there,” I hear him say to Joshua, and I think, “We?!” but say nothing.

Joshua sees the salamander, who is easily caught in his net, and we all huddle around to admire it by the glow of a dozen flashlights. You know, salamanders are just cute. There is no other way to describe them, with their Elmo-shaped faces and tiny little feet, and I am enjoying watching this little guy (or girl—it’s hard to tell) as he resolutely keeps trying to climb out of the net. He cooperates nicely, though, when everyone wants to take his picture.

In the meantime, a kid sees a large crayfish in the water and tries to catch it, succeeding only in causing it to hide under a big rock. His brother (?) comes up a while later. “There’s a big crayfish in this stream,” he says to me.

Me: (trying to be friendly) I know. I saw it. It’s really cool. I think it’s under this rock now. (I point to a rock, which is located in an especially deep part of the stream.)

Kid: Why don’t you try to catch it?

Me: No, it’s too deep there. The water will go over my boots.

Kid: You could just reach in and lift up the rock.

Me: No, I don’t think so. (It really is in a rather inaccessible spot.)

Kid: Just lean over and lift up the rock.

Me: (getting annoyed now) That’s okay. I don’t feel like falling in, and I don’t want to get pinched by those claws. (The kid is still looking at me expectantly.) Why don’t you reach in and try to get him?

That finally deters him, and he wanders away.

I eventually wander off myself, back up toward the pond. Others are making their way back now as well. On the way, someone sees a crayfish in the grasses by the path. He is rearing up, claws waving wildly in the air, like that crab in Finding Nemo trying to scare off the sea gulls. The obnoxious lady in the white coat pipes up to encourage the boy who found it to pick it up. (It must be her son.)

OLWC: You’ve got to reach around this way. Come on now, don’t be a wuss.

Boy: (whining) I don’t want to get pinched.

OLWC: Oh, you won’t get pinched. It won’t hurt that much even if you do. Now those hermit crabs down at Hilton Head--they hurt! Come on, you’ve just got to be quick about it while he has his claws in the front. Like this!

She grabs for it and nearly gets pinched. She tries again and succeeds in grabbing it, but the poor crayfish has a firm grasp on the grasses under its other legs. She starts tugging, but, thankfully, Joshua intervenes and the crayfish is saved from certain dismemberment.

I continue my trek to the pond, with the lady’s piercing voice fading behind me, and soon find another salamander, this time on the path. Several of us enjoy watching it for a while before I decide we need to move it off the path so it can avoid being stepped on. I wet my hand in the pond, and then carefully pick him up. He is the largest salamander I’ve ever held (not that I recommend handling them, mind you), and I swiftly place him in the pond. Definitely cool!

We saw several more after that—about 15 in all. We saw their egg masses as well. We kept up hope for seeing the tiger salamander, but, after an hour outside in the freezing rain, even us diehards were finally ready to head back.


***************************************

So which night was better? Hmmm, well, the second night was certainly more successful as far as actually seeing some salamanders, but the first night was definitely more entertaining (and chaotic!). I wished that my children had been able to come with me that second night—in spite of the cold, miserable weather. Truthfully, both nights were special….

However, I think sharing the experience with my family and friends was the best—even if we only saw two salamanders.

Besides, we got to break the park rules. That has to count for something, right?

Last edited by LalaithUrwen on Sun 09 Oct , 2005 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

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RELStuart
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Posted: Fri 08 Apr , 2005 2:06 pm
Legendury speller
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:D

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself. :)


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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Fri 08 Apr , 2005 9:01 pm
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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Thanks, I did! :)



Lali

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Di of Long Cleeve
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Posted: Sat 09 Apr , 2005 12:06 am
Frodo's girl through and through
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What a delightfully written account. :)

Do you really call the frogs Spring Peepers?

That's so charming. :D

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Riverthalos
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Posted: Sat 09 Apr , 2005 1:51 am
bioalchemist
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Breaking rules is always a worthy endeavor.

Sounds like it was funner the first night out - two too many annoying people on the second. :)

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LalaithUrwen
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Posted: Mon 25 Apr , 2005 3:39 pm
The Grey Amaretto as Supermega-awesome Proud Heretic Girl
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:D Yeah, there were more annoying people the second night out, but Joshua was also there and there were more salamanders. I guess I did enjoy the first night more, all in all. :)

Thanks, Di! Yes, we really do call them Spring Peepers. They are these tiny, little frogs, but they make such an ear-splitting noise it really does hurt. Spring Peeper Link Click on the sound file to hear them--just turn your speakers all the way to try to approximate the real sound. ;)


Here's a pic of the salamander, too.

Spotted Salamander


Lali

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