Enjoyed a calm walk in the woods after a light spring rain. Pleasantly surprised to see ramps (wild leeks) starting to come up! 

Happy Earth Day!  Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.  Students in the St. Lawrence University conservation biology class spent 1.5 hours this morning picking up trash at the SLU Sandbanks and also along park street.  Disappointing to see how much trash people leave behind.  Pollution, including littering, is one of the "4 horsemen of the environmental apocalypse" (climate change results from polluation; the other three are habitat loss/destruction, invasive species, and overharvesting).

Happy Earth Day!  The red maples are in full bloom - it is easy to forget that some of our trees are flowering plants - they flower before they leaf out, which presumably give the wind-dispersed pollen a chance to move more easily.  Very lovely.

Encountered this (alive) giant water bug as I was leaving campus at about 10 pm.  These insects hibernate in the leaf litter during the winter and then emerge and migrate back to the water where they are fierce aquatic predators (but not to be feared by humans).  Nice to see that this one hadn't been squished.  I hope it makes it!

First day our daffodils opened!  I've been watching them all week and thought they might open yesterday, but today was the day.  Along with the peepers, this proves to me that spring is really here*.

*even if it snows later

Here are a few photos that were recently posted on NUN's instagram and facebook to highlight Big Night for New York's Herps!

Click through to learn more!

During the Herpetology class's lab period, I spotted two-redbacked salamanders under the same log, one red-backed salamander 5 m from those two, one leadback salamander under a different log, and one red spotted newt under a log.  The class collectively heard spring peepers and caught this wood frog in a minnow trap! This all occurred between 1-4 on a rainy and relatively cold, spring day and all herps were found along the Kip Trail near St. Lawrence University.  Here are some photos to help!

We found high water and icy trails at Stone Valley this weekend. It made for slow walking but beautiful views along the way. The last photo is of porcupine chew on a birch tree, both from this winter and a previous winter. 

Staff member walking on the trails at Nicandri Nature Center. Saw a garter snake in the leaf litter. First of the season!

Cascade Ice Dance is a Don Mellor first ascent from awhile back. It offers aesthetic and interesting climbing and a mixed start if the ice doesn't touch down as with our trip. Devin Farkas, Kennedy Quigg and I tackled it before heading downstream to another climb. This was well worth the effort.