As naturalists we’re always keen to see spring arrive, so again in 2022 we organized a preview for late March at the Twin Bridges site in Polk County at the bottom of the escarpment outside Saluda. Given the challenges with parking there, we arranged three different dates, each led by member guides, and saw a total of 22 members participating. And fortunately the weather cooperated for all three dates, even if some of the hikes started out a little chilly.
by Linda Martinson
Certified Blue Ridge Naturalist
Nothing like a Pandemic and a foot of snow to make you good and tired of winter, but a few days before the end of February, I heard the first calls of spring peepers in the evening and I felt a burst of Blue Ridge Spring happiness. Spring peepers do sound happy and thrilled to be alive…maybe because they are eagerly seeking mates. We have the northern subspecies of spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), widespread throughout the area wherever they have the right habitat. That would be, for example, moist fields; woods with creeks and marshes; and low grassy areas near ponds and wetlands. Spring peepers are small, about the size of a paper clip, so although the chorus of their calls is loud, the tiny frogs are seldom seen.
Tuesday, April 12, via Zoom – 7:00 P.M. – 8:30 PM
A Zoom link will be found here a few days before the event.
WAMPUM is made from the purple and white Quahog shell found on the North American East Coast. It was used by tribes long before European arrival and is one of the few things still in existence that connect to original traditional Native culture.
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