Just think - if this last storm had been a cold snow, we would now have about four feet of snow on the ground! It has been a memorable winter but frankly, with spring fully in motion, I am glad that we got saturated instead of buried.

The onset of spring is becoming more and more obvious each day. I share these various signs each day with friends, workmates and my family. My youngest Emerson takes a studious approach to this. “Is this day longer too?”

I share the signs of spring around the house. The blooming snowdrops. The green shoots of daffodils. The increase of bird song, especially the titmice and cardinals in the yard. The robins on the lawn. The worms. There is some new sign of spring to find just about every day.

With the approach of yesterday’s storm, I began wondering if this would be the salamander rain in the Sourlands - the rain which brings the spotted salamanders up out of the soil for their grand coming out party of swimming, dancing, and, umm, sex. With the heavy rain and lower temperatures, I had my doubts that this would be the rain so I stayed at home last night - safe from falling trees - and decided to make a visit today. There was not a salamander in sight but the woods up in the Sourlands contained plenty of magic.

The woods were simply saturated and you could hear running water everywhere. The dull colors of winter were enlivened by their saturation. Emerson found a brilliant golden jelly fungus on a branch that had blown down. He touched it after examining it discovering how it got its name (or should it be the ‘rubbery fungus’?) He put it down on the side of the trail so that “others could see it.”

As we searched the overflowing pools for any salamanders, we were drawn downstream to the running water. Each of us - adult, teenager, and youngster - picked up sticks to launch them on journeys through riotous rapids downstream. If there is any activity that I would consider myself an expert, it would be just this - floating stick boats. I have been doing this all my life - from the roadside gutters in suburban California and New Jersey to daylong journeys down streams and brooks.

We launched many stick boats. Sometimes they got stuck. Zachary fashioned a stick that could be used to ‘rescue’ any of our boats when they got hung up.  Emerson simply could not launch enough sticks - “One more Daddy, one more!” There was plenty of wood moving downstream thanks to all the wind-pruning but there was even more when we were through. We returned home after our exploration in the Sourlands with dry feet and high spirits. We will visit again soon, watchful for the spotted salmanders, and ready to launch another boat or two.