The little poodle and I left the back porch on our bedtime walk at about 9:30 last night, and we were immediately struck by two strong sensations that are emblematic of spring in South Alabama. First, the air was heavy and sweet with the perfume of magnolia blossoms mixed with honeysuckle and jasmine. This was one of those times when I envied Pepper's superior sense of smell, because the aroma had to be really intense for her, but even I was acutely aware of the strong sweet fragrance.
Also,even before we went down the back steps, the riotous chorus of the frogs in the overflow pool below our house assaulted our ears with an almost tangible impact. As the nights get warmer, the amphibian libido gets more active, and the after-dark sing-alongs that accompany courtship can be really impressive for their volume and variety. The little pool is quite shallow, and it sometimes almost completely dries up in July and August, but in early spring if offers a wonderful spot for frog habitat and breeding. I always think of the frog song as LIFE. Even in the face of man's relentless development and callous indifference to the world around him, the evolutionary life force endures in that little pool. Long may it reign and prosper.
Thomas R. Borden Waugh, Alabama May 22, 2014