The rainy season is upon us

Posted 2/12/20

Friday, Jan. 31, it rained all the way from Irmo to Apex, North Carolina.

The rainy season reigned, and as I crossed the state line I thought of the Carolina bays. “They should be full, a good …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get 50% of all subscriptions for a limited time. Subscribe today.

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

The rainy season is upon us

Posted

Friday, Jan. 31, it rained all the way from Irmo to Apex, North Carolina.
The rainy season reigned, and as I crossed the state line I thought of the Carolina bays. “They should be full, a good thing for amphibians and a host of wildlife.”
Well, it rained all the next day, too. On Super Bowl Sunday the rising sun lit up the tops of pines.
All that Carolina rain set me to remembering. For 7 years I worked on a book about the Carolina bays, those elliptical, parallel depressions in the Atlantic Coastal plain. The book tells the story of these strange, lush places. Science cannot determine what created the depressions, and so they remain one of Earth’s mystery-shrouded landforms.
Bays offer havens to many species. If you’ve never been inside a bay, you’re missing a wilderness adventure. It’s amazing to see a natural landscape devoid of cement, asphalt, wires, cars, and people. Downright stunning.
You should hear the concert untold legions of frogs render near sundown in an undisturbed bay.
Why so many frogs? Well, what many bays do is fill with rain and then dry out. That means fish have a hard time establishing a presence, which means frogs and salamanders can breed and lay eggs with impunity. No predatory fish will dent their populations or their music.
Carolina Bays, Wild, Mysterious, and Majestic Landforms, USC Press, details this coming and going of water. Steve Bennett writes a wonderful introduction on the benefits of temporary water.
In his introduction, he writes, “The theories of origin proposed to date range from far-fetched, such as the one that suggested they were the ‘wallows’ of ancient seagoing creatures, to extraterrestrial, blaming meteor and comet collisions for their presence, to those that focus on earth-bound explanations. But this mystery fascinates me less than the ecology of these unique wetlands does.”
Steve talks about water’s coming and going and how that benefits salamanders and frogs.
Of course, other species live in bays: colorful grasses, orchids, pond cypress, lichens, and carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and Venus fly traps. Black bear, bobcats, gators, deer, and extraordinary bird life fill the bays. Feathers aplenty? You bet.
And now I hold the essence of the bays in my hand. Seven years, 3 states, dozens of bays, and miles upon miles went into this book.
Would I do it all over again? How could I not explore Earth’s most mysterious landforms?
The real payoff, however, was the chance to escape civilization. I traded car horns for frog serenades, gas fumes for fragrant orchids, and cement and asphalt for black water, white sands, and multicolored grasses. Plus, I injected a bit of mystery and adventure into life. “Like going to Africa,” I wrote.
It was a grand exploration, an escape from the pettiness and ugliness of civilized life deep into beauty and mystery.
So, here’s to the Carolina bays, the life-giving rainy season, and the natural world. May they all reign as long as the sun shines.

down south, rainy season, frog, tom poland

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here