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Show www. mo Moab Happenings abhappenings.com The Trill of Victory Humans are impatient beings. We fret over small delays - long lines at the bank window, late appointments or the forever please hold for the next available . . . New computers are outdated as soon as they hit the shelves and who, besides me, would try to surf the Internet on a prehistoric 486 machine. Even those who believe that Good things happen to those that wait wonder how long thdt will July 2000 5B by Damian Fagan After such a storm, I visit my favorite pothole near the Slickrock Trailhead. Brimming with water, I search the pools edge with my headlamp. I catch a glimpse of a swimmer, not a triller. With a streamlined body ending in a flattened tail, feathery gills and four legs for propulsion, I Find not a toad but a tiger salamander. take - if only we would learn from toads. When the summer monsoons start usually in July, when lightning flashes across and the thunder sky reverberates off the canyon walls, and when the sweet rains pound out a rhythm across the parched earth, some species of jump, startled by the intrusion. With my headlamp toad. illuminate a small, creature - a This one is not alone. As I watch it swim to the edge, red-wart- red-spott- ed ed see and count several others. Half submerged or completely out of water, these two inch toads belt out their Calls. You would never think that such a small creature could make so much noise. As their vocal sacs fill with air - this chamber helps to intensify the resonating of air moving across the larynx - they then let loose with a prolonged shrill trill, which differs from the baby-lik- e waaahh of the Woodhouses toad. The modem word amphibian is from the Greek word amphibios meaning two lives. These creatures undergo a transformation from aquatic to terrestrial, from gills to lungs, from tadpole to toad. Once the breeding season is over, these creatures vill spend some additional time above ground before they seek burrows, crevices or other hiding places to wait out the long winter. From these toads I gain a new appreciation for the term patience, something these amphibians are "toadally" masters of. I toads awaken from their slumber. Patient slumber. Some species, like the spadefoot, have waited nine to ten months for just this moment. Other species, like the toad or Woodhouses toad, have exited their moist overwintering burrows long ago; now they await the rains that will fill the potholes and provide them with breeding locations. In and among the canyon washes, agricultural red-spott- ed .,'" i iLf -- rf-- v V" L. Some juvenile tiger salamanders never grow out of this larval stage. They are paedomorphic meaning they may remain in this larval form, complete with external gills, no eyelids and long tail fins, even though they become sexually mature. They just never potholes and stock attain trills of rX -- w ? - ", ' 1 . . - ' 4. V 4 $ - y T ? - : w- - CfL.. ,y; JW adult underwater ' j, w t 4 ' J r ::v V ' ' ' a 4 j r ' But tonight I the bypass V ' I . - jT r$. t , - salamanders. Instead, I continue my search for the trillers, which by now, are piercing the night air. sweet trilling male of choruses, toads beckons to female their counterparts to join Again, v I sweep the edge of the pool, until I feel something bump them in amplexus - a into my submerged foot. I cant help but to mating embrace. Photos by Damian Fagan UUU Immediate Availability Privacy & Security Mail Forwarding Call-i- n Service Early Mail Delivery United Parcel Delivery & Pick-u- p Federal Express Pick-u- p & Delivery Prestigious street address with Suite NEED TO SEND OR RECEIVE A FAX? We V ' fr i C characteristics. victory mix into the symphonic grandeur of the storm. In this case victory equates to survival, and the toadal - 4. 4. ditches or isolated tanks, ' I . can receive faxes 24 hours a day., dedicated fax line ir) oj 435-259-24- 18 nnnnnunnnfp it in i n M 11 II i Open Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 59 South Main Suite 3 Moab, Utah 84532 I Phono (435) 259-843- 1 |