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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Well Donna from personnel experience there is</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">no better soil expert than Dave! A very learned man in his field</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">with lots of practical experience to back it up! </span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can believe what he says.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Salamanders are very common around my yard.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whatever the conditions its right for them!</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I need go hear the frogs one evening soon.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Enjoy the spring</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul</span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span>
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> On April 22, 2019 at 8:17 AM Donna Crossland <dcrossland@eastlink.ca> wrote:
<br/>>
<br/>>
<br/>> I won't speak on the chemistry just yet, hoping others will join in.
<br/>>
<br/>> As to the yellow spotted salamanders, the males head to the pond perhaps
<br/>> ahead of the females (I'd have to look that up).  At any rate, they lay
<br/>> a spermatophore (at least without checking the literature, I believe
<br/>> that is what it is called), and then somehow entice the female to pick
<br/>> up his spermatophore over the next one's.  Given it's mostly
<br/>> subterranean lifestyle, lack of hearing, and rather unexciting mating
<br/>> option, I would suggest not reincarnating as a yellow spotted salamander
<br/>> for a next life, though perhaps it would be a just reward given what we
<br/>> are doing to the planet. haha
<br/>>
<br/>> I am guessing that others may be able to witness some migrating
<br/>> salamanders tonight, especially in the less advanced (spring-wise)
<br/>> locations where ice is still present.
<br/>>
<br/>> Donna
<br/>>
<br/>>
<br/>> On 2019-04-22 7:16 a.m., David Webster wrote:
<br/>> > Hi Donna and All,
<br/>> >
<br/>> >     Your experience with a pond only three years old sounds like the
<br/>> > magic of habitat. Or a variant of "If you build it they will come."
<br/>> > Nothing beats being in the right place at the right time.
<br/>> >
<br/>> >     With regard to acidity of your mom's pond, Gypsum would increase
<br/>> > dissolved Calcium but would not raise the pH.
<br/>> >
<br/>> >     Hydrated lime would act rapidly but could have toxic effects from
<br/>> > localized high pH (a squirt of that will blind). Agricultural
<br/>> > limestone  at about 5 tons per acre would be safe, and effective if
<br/>> > well scattered, but best monitored because the particles might become
<br/>> > smothered under leaves. The coarse limestone sold for gardening is of
<br/>> > doubtful value but will last for many generations. The solubility of
<br/>> > Calcium Carbonate decreases rapidly with increase in pH so each
<br/>> > particle generates an environment in which CaCO3 is insoluble.
<br/>> >
<br/>> >     I have usually found Salamanders by accident; rotten logs, under
<br/>> > bark or cavities in wood. How long does the swarming in ponds last ?
<br/>> >
<br/>> > Dave W. Kentville
<br/>> >
<br/>> >
<br/>> > On 4/22/2019 12:11 AM, Donna Crossland wrote:
<br/>> >> Tonight a chorus of spring peepers penetrates the walls and windows
<br/>> >> of our house.  They beckoned me outside, and over to the 'salamander
<br/>> >> pond' I went.  There were spring peepers on blades of grass some
<br/>> >> distance from the pond and I soon found myself stepping very
<br/>> >> carefully in the misty, balmy 16 C night.  The little frogs were
<br/>> >> everywhere!  We had dug a pond specifically with amphibians in mind
<br/>> >> in 2016 (with gradual sloping banks, shallow depths, and a varied
<br/>> >> bottom with occasional rocks).  It's working well!  Last week there
<br/>> >> were wood frogs, with only occasional spring peepers. Tonight the
<br/>> >> peepers are deafening and wood frogs are only occasional backup
<br/>> >> singers.  I remember the peepers being this loud at home when I was
<br/>> >> small, but they are no longer in the loud choruses they once were on
<br/>> >> the South Mountain of Kings County. The acid rain is still having an
<br/>> >> impact.  I've thought of dropping a piece of gypsum in Mom's pond to
<br/>> >> sweeten the water.  (Would that help, I wonder?  I should measure the
<br/>> >> pH and give it a try, but haven't gotten around to that yet.)
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> Our pond was a busy spot tonight, with a lot of 'amplexus taking
<br/>> >> place'.   My neighbour's pond, just meters away from our own, is much
<br/>> >> older and well-established, so I visited both ponds and compared. 
<br/>> >> The frog population seemed similar in both ponds but the water has
<br/>> >> not yet cleared in our new one.  I hope our pond supports enough food
<br/>> >> to raise the tadpoles successfully. Meanwhile, my ear drums nearly
<br/>> >> vibrated out of my skull.  I put up my hood to shut out some of the
<br/>> >> noise.  (Could prolonged exposure to an extremely loud spring peeper
<br/>> >> chorus cause loss of high pitched hearing?  Did this ever happen to
<br/>> >> anyone?  Swamp dwellers are deaf?  Maybe this is the reason why
<br/>> >> salamanders don't hear!! What is the decibel threshold for hearing
<br/>> >> damage-it seems that peepers might surpass it.  Could I lose ability
<br/>> >> to hear Blackburnians and other high pitchers from this activity? I
<br/>> >> don't think those are common herptile questions, but I'd love to have
<br/>> >> some answers.)
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> Other life in the pond seems to be missing this evening.  Other
<br/>> >> years, I've seen yellow spotted salamanders moving about the bottom
<br/>> >> and occasional red spotted newts.  I thought the salamander migration
<br/>> >> must have already taken place, but perhaps not.  I looked more
<br/>> >> sharply on the way back to the house.  There in my back yard was a
<br/>> >> yellow spotted salamander, frozen motionless, but pointed in the
<br/>> >> direction of the pond.  I took some photos.  Then thought perhaps
<br/>> >> he/she was held motionless under the fairly strong lighting of the
<br/>> >> back yard light.  I stepped inside the back door and turned the light
<br/>> >> off.  I'll give it a minute to move in the darkness, I thought to
<br/>> >> myself, and decided to scan through some of my frog shots on the
<br/>> >> camera before stepping back out to see if I could get an action video
<br/>> >> of that salamander.  It must have traveled in great haste.  It was
<br/>> >> nowhere to be seen, though it should have been easy to re-find on the
<br/>> >> mown lawn.  It had apparently already walked the ~ 15 m to the tall
<br/>> >> grass closer to the pond.
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> I searched for other salamanders but didn't find any.  I wonder if
<br/>> >> there is a time of night when they travel the most?  One thing is for
<br/>> >> certain, the salamanders should have had plenty of snacks along their
<br/>> >> migration.  There were 1000s of earthworms in the yard, all slipping
<br/>> >> back into their holes as I walked along. Some of them were also
<br/>> >> taking advantage of the warm moist evening to 'swap genetics'.  Busy
<br/>> >> night!  I returned to the back door to find 2 spring peepers glued to
<br/>> >> the wall beside the door and one on the glass door.  Very cool.
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> It's suppose to rain for a few more nights.  This is great fun. Maybe
<br/>> >> others will have similar experiences.  On the South Mountain, some
<br/>> >> ponds still had ice in them today.  I suspect the salamander
<br/>> >> migration may be in earlier stages there.  Wood frogs may still have
<br/>> >> 'a chance at the mic' before they get drowned out by the peepers!
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> Donna Crossland
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> Herpin' in Tupperville
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >>
<br/>> >> ---
<br/>> >> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
<br/>> >> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
<br/>> >
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