Hear them peep

Spring is slowly emerging...and so are the frogs.  Ever since March 12th's warm rain officially unlocked winter's tight grasp, I have been hearing occasional peeps and quacks coming from the forest. I spent a few hours this weekend in my waterproof 'froggin' boots cruising through woodland ponds (also called vernal pools) looking critters.  Here's what I found:

A male wood frog floating in a vernal pool, March 23, 2013

In a pool behind the Bedford Audubon Society's HQ I found THOUSANDS (!!!) of wood frogs (Rana sylvaticus) doing what wood frogs do at this time of year: float, quack and mate. These 2 inch amphibians live most of their lives on land but lay their eggs in water and rely on the safety of fish-free vernal pools to do so.  During the first warm and wet days of spring wood frogs congregate in impressive numbers in the shallows of a vernal pool and get directly to business.  Below is a picture of wood frogs mating.  The larger, pinkish female is below the smaller and browner male.  Both sexes contain a black mask over their eye, which helps in identification.         

Female (larger, underneath) and male (smaller, above) wood frogs mating.

Wood frogs have attained a good bit of fame due to their amazing overwintering strategy, which is described in the following videos.       

Funny video of wood frog freezing and unfreezing.  

Beautiful video of wood frogs freezing and unfreezing in Alaska.  

A good technical description of what the heck happens to the wood frog in winter.  

Another frog found in vernal pools is the spring peeper, (pseudacris crucifer) whose very loud 'PEEP', 'PEEP', 'PEEP' can be heard echoing from wetlands at great distances.  You have probably heard this little frogs before, but maybe you haven't seen one in action (they are certainly impressive).  For a great look at the peeper in action, check out this video (I am sorry about the advertisement before this video - believe me, its worth it) 

Back at the Armstrong Preserve's vernal pool, I found something that may rival the freezing frogs:  fairy shrimp.  These 1/2 inch - 1 inch long crustaceans in the Eubranchipus genus swim near the water's surface and take cover as shadow's pass by.  The fairy in the picture below is carrying an egg sack on her back, which will be deposited in the pool where it will sit for a year before hatching.   

A female fairy shrimp carrying an egg sack 

Vernal pool conservation
Unfortunately, life isn't always easy for animals that inhabit vernal pools.  For centuries, vernal pools (and wetlands of all types) were seen as valueless to humans and were drained, filled and developed.  Thankfully, times are changing.  Now vernal pools (and wetlands of all types) are the subject of public interests, scientific research and conservation.  Wood frogs, fairy shrimp and mole salamanders (which I have not yet seen in my nearby pool) are consider 'vernal pool obligates' because vernal pools are the only known habitats in which they beed.  The future of these amazing animals would be critically imperiled if vernal pools were destroyed.  For this reason, the Armstrong Preserve's vernal pool is protected, valued and used as an outdoor classroom to educate others about protecting vernal pools on their property.  Although many municipalities have wetland regulations on the books, vernal pools could always receive more protection.  Vernal pools are connected to the surrounding forests by the wildlife that move between both.  Any harm that comes to the nearby forest will be passed on to the vernal pool.  Forest and pool protection go hand in hand.

You and vernal pools
There may be a vernal pool in your backyard.  Do you hear frogs in the spring?  Is there a seasonally flooded pond in your forest?  This website will help you identify a vernal pool from other wetlands.  For a fantastic resource on vernal pools, their natural history and conservation, written by the region's pool expert, Dr. Elizabeth Colburn, see this book.  If your property contains one of these pools, you can expect to spend many hours studying its fascinating wildlife.  Protect it, and it will reward you with its beauty.  

Microgreens in March

I am always interested in finding new ways to grow plants and experimenting with ways to do so on a tight energy budget.  This is our latest success story:  Sarah and I started growing microgreens next to our south-facing bedroom window last week.  We didn't quite know how much light we needed to grow our pea and sunflower shoots but we seem to have enough.  We are very happy to report that we didn't need a grow light.  The pictures below show a few of the stages.  

Day 5.  Little baby pea shoots opening their first set of seed leaves or 'cotyledons'.  

Day 5.  A cute little sunflower shoot.  

Day 10.  Two trays of microgreens.  Pea shoots on the left and sunflower shoots on the right.  

Day 15.  Post harvest.  Our microgreens aren't so 'micro' anymore.    

There has been an increasing hype around microgreens recently as they have been said to contain tons of nutrients.  In a quick internet search, I discovered that there is some debate about just how healthy microgreens are.  This NPR article refers to an August 2012 study out of the University of Maryland that concludes that microgreens contain more nutrients than mature leaves of the same plant.  This source (scroll to the bottom of the page) contests the researcher's experimental design and remains skeptical about their findings.  Here is some info about the August 2012 study, which was the first of its kind.  Apparently, claims made before the University of Maryland study was conducted (and there are alot of them) were not based on evidence.

Well, I for one don't need too many nutrient-based reasons to grow microgreens in my bedroom in March.  Vegetables are good for you (no matter how 'micro' or 'macro' they are) and growing them at home reduces my carbon footprint.  Seems like a no brainer to me.      

If you are interested in growing microgreens at your own home you can check out A good how-to guide for growing micro greens.

At the Armstrong Education Center I am likely to continue growing microgreens because they are mobile (just pick up the tray!), taste great and (some say) nutritious.  I will have no trouble growing them in the long days of summer and now I know that I can always throw them in front of a south facing window in late fall and early spring.  Happy growing!    

A fire inside

I have always been a little conflicted about fireplaces and wood stoves.  No matter how much I love sitting next to my wood stove I must admit that it releases pollution and carbon dioxide into the air.  This fact has caught the attention of municipalities and governing bodies around the country and air pollution laws often times address residential wood burning.

See what the City of Los Angeles did in 2008.
Arcata, California also addressed wood burning at home.

Diagram showing the relative emissions of 7 common heating methods.  

I found this diagram and think that it is worth sharing but I certainly don't take it as gospel.  The diagram suggests that oil, gas and electric heat emit the least amount of fine particles.  If you only calculate emissions at the home, this diagram is accurate.  If you take into consideration that your home's electric heat was produced by burning coal in a factory, you might have to take out your paper and pencil and double check your math.  Obviously, this diagram is too simple and doesn't account for other sources of pollution along the process of production.  What the diagram does do well is illustrate that not all wood stoves are created equal.  Most open-faced fire places are still pretty inefficient, but we have entered the world of efficient residential wood stoves.  Since Neanderthals first made fires in caves,  efficient and clean-burning fire technology has come a long way.

My wood stove is much more efficient and clean burning than this fire

My wood stove is not the primary heating source for the Armstrong House.  Its more like a very fun and entertaining way to heat up my living room.  I fire it up at night when I watch a movie, when I entertain guests or when I simply want to play with fire.  I don't think too much about releasing airborne toxins because my wood stove is an amazing piece of technology.  

Generously donated by Wittus (a local stove dealer), my EPA certified, soapstone-covered stove boasts a handful of technical efficiencies, including: 

Clean burning - many of the organic particles (like ash) are burned in the firebox instead of being sent up the stove pipe. 

Cold air intake pipe – This is my favorite feature. My stove has two pipes that connect it to outside: 1) The smoke stack (necessary for any stove) and, 2) an air intake pipe.  Without this intake pipe, the fire would steadily pull in the room's air (remember, fires need to breath).  As the fire sucks in the room's air, the room needs to replace it – where does the room get this air?  Cold air from outside enters the room through the windows and walls to replace the air being sucked into the fire.  While that air exchange is going on the temperature of the room goes down.  My air intake pipe streamlines that whole process and directly sends air to the fire without inadvertently cooling the room.        

Insulated combustion chamber - the materials used to insulate the combustion chamber allow it to reach extremely high temperatures, which increases efficiency while reducing emissions.  

The Armstrong House's wood stove.  

The soapstone stays hot for hours and is actually still warm to the touch in the morning.  I have found that wood stoves certainly have their place in residential home heating and, like at the Armstrong House, stoves are suitable components of the overall heating system.  Now with efficient and technologically advanced stoves, burning wood doesn't necessarily mean spewing pollution into the air.    

If you're shopping around, you need to do your research.  Here is some general starting information on residential wood burning.  Happy heating.  Respect fire.