Northern Spring Peeper
By Dawn Lawless

The first day of spring is officially March 20th; however for me, the true beginning of spring is somewhere around the arrival of flower bulbs and hearing the familiar, pleasing sound of a chorus of spring peepers. Calling usually begins with the early warm rains. Initially, the calling occurs day and night, but as the season wears on the singing is limited to late afternoons and night. Air temperatures need to be in the mid-50s and calling reaches a peak with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.

The spring peeper may be Pennsylvania's most abundant tree-climbing frog, and it has moderately webbed feet and the toes have sticky pads. This amphibian is quite tiny, only 3/4" to 1-1/4" long. You can easily recognize one by a large, dark irregularly x-shaped mark in the middle of the back. The slender body can be tan, light brown, or grayish on top and light on the belly.

Spring peepers prefer a wooded area near a permanent body of water; however, they can also be found thriving in temporarily flooded swamp areas, floodplains, or ponds. During the winter they locate a cozy log to hibernate beneath or they hide in loose bark in the woodlands. Peepers begin their spring migration to bodies of water when the temperature is right. Courtship occurs March to June. The female releases the singular eggs, which the male fertilizes as they float away to attach to plants and sticks. Tadpoles hatch in 6-12 days, depending on water temperature. Metamorphosis is complete in about three months. Adults will eat small invertebrates, flies, gnats, ants, small worms, and grubs. They are an environmental indicator species. This means you'll only find them located in clean water, as they do not tolerate polluted water.

So the next time you hear the chorus of the spring peeper, think of it as an invitation to get outside and clear out the winter cobwebs!

The Children's Garden at Maysie's Farm

If you visited the farm last season, you probably noticed the addition of a beautiful Children's Garden where an overgrown hedgerow used to be. Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers and under the leadership of Dawn Lawless, the area turned into a wonderful garden housing a tepee of beans, a sunflower house, a pumpkin patch, and other flower and vegetable plants. This year we're looking forward to the installation of artwork provided by Dawn's second grade class at Kings Highway Elementary School.

Recipe Asparagus Soup with Mint and Lemon Don't know what to do with the tough ends of asparagus, snapped off when trimming? They contain as much flavor as the rest of the spears and tips but are too tough to eat whole. Serves 4 2 cups spring stock or water (I imagine a vegetable stock, with some lemon, would be OK too) 3 cups asparagus ends (white or green, very woody ones discarded) Coarse or kosher salt 1 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves (about 3 sprigs) Grated zest of 1/2 lemon 1. In a large pan bring the stock and 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the asparagus ends, season lightly with salt, and cook until you can pierce the asparagus with the tines of a fork almost effortlessly; 8 to 10 minutes after the stock comes back to a boil. 2. Remove from the heat and ladle into a food processor. (You may want to do this in two batches.) Process until extremely smooth and a creamy turnip color. Run through a sieve or food mill to remove any stringy pieces. Return to pan. 3. Add the milk and cream and heat until small bubbles form on the sides of the pan and the soup is steaming. Season to taste with salt. You can serve the soup hot, though you may want to skip the mint if you do so. The author prefers it cool. To serve it this way, let it cool completely and chill in the refrigerator. Stir in the chopped mint. Ladle into four bowls, sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve. From The Cook and the Gardener, by Amanda Hesser

But the Children's Garden needs people not only to come and enjoy it but to help maintain it. From the sowing and transplanting to the weeding and watering, there are jobs to be done throughout the season. We also need help with the installation of the Kings Highway artwork, the weekend of June 1 and 2. If you are interested in helping out in any capacity, please call Dawn at (610) 384-7286. This would be a fun and enriching experience for families with children!

Volunteer Work Days

Has spring fever made you just itching for an opportunity to get outdoors and do some gardening? Maysie's Farm is always looking for helpers, and we've scheduled some volunteer work days for the spring: Sunday, April 28 and Saturday May 18 beginning at 10:00am. Possible job assignments include planting potatoes, cutting back overgrowth and refurbishing the Children's Garden, applying compost, transplanting, mulching and weeding, weeding, weeding! Another work day will take place on the weekend of June 1-2 to help with the art project installation in the Children's Garden.

So mark your calendars, give Cathy Fornwalt a call (610-363-0892) to let her know you're coming, and we'll see you at the farm!

Call for Distribution Manager

Can you spare an hour or two when you come to pick up your produce? If so, please consider being a Distribution Manager. Essentially, the duties of a Distribution Manager are the following:

• Work with farm staff to keep produce stocked in pickup area.
  
• Remind people to pick up chicken and eggs if they ordered them.
  
• Encourage members to utilize the recipes we offer.
  
• Show people where the pick-your-own vegetables and flowers are.
  
• Keep the pickup area neat.
  
• Answer general questions.
  
• Remind people about potlucks, volunteer days and other scheduled events.
  
• Help out with surveys of members to support campaigns (such as the natural food campaign).
  
• Put left over produce away at the end of the day.

The only job requirement is a willingness to help out! Please call Cathy Fornwalt at (610)363-0892 if you¹d like to give this a try.