Apr 14 2026
An Urge to Hear Peepers
A couple days ago, as I was raking in my yard, I felt a powerful urge to hear spring peepers. It’s that time of year. No doubt they are starting to mate. So yesterday I set my rake aside, pulled on my hiking boots, and headed for a section of the Rail Trail that cuts through wetlands and woods.
Clouds gathered overhead as I stepped out of my car and meandered up the trail. No matter. I was wearing a light jacket and hat. Let it rain. With temps in the 50s, I was comfortable enough. A few sparrows flitted through nearby bushes. A red-winged blackbird called out. Then I heard a solitary peeper singing from the wetlands through which I passed. Or thought I did. Maybe it was just my imagination.
A little over a mile back, I reached the ephemeral pools where I’ve heard those little frogs singing in years past. Sure enough, a few cried out. Their shrill, high-pitched mating calls were music to my ears. This is the sound of eternal renewal, I thought as I sat down and listened to them. Once again, wild nature is awakening from its long winter slumber. Soon there will be wildflowers breaking through the bleached forest duff.
During the walk back to the car, I looked into the smaller ephemeral pools along the edge of the trail. I spotted a cluster of frog eggs just beneath the surface in one of them. I moved in close to snap a picture.
Just then an inhabitant of the pool surfaced, staring right at me as if to say: “Who goes there? What are your intentions?” I managed to snap a photo of that creature before it slipped out of sight.
Then the clouds darkened and a light rain commenced. Suddenly a few peepers called out from the sprawling wetland on the other side of the trail. A few more joined the chorus, drowning out the sound of falling rain.
I took my time finishing the walk, enjoying the stark beauty of early spring along the way. I heard a few more peepers in the wetlands where I thought I first heard one, but they fell silent as I walked by. No matter. All is right with the world when the frogs are doing what they are meant to do.
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