The Frogs Are Talking...

...and they're saying it's an early spring.  In a normal year spring peepers are making noise by now:

Spring peepers

However, I have been hearing them intermittently for a couple of weeks.  Also, last weekend I heard American toads when I was out running in the woods:


American toad

Although the link (referencing NC) indicates they can call in Februrary, around here I don't recall ever hearing them before March-April.  Yesterday I heard upland chorus frogs, too; they call about the same time as the peepers but usually start a little later.

Upland chorus frog

By mid-April all will be silent.  We are pretty likely to have more frost here in north Georgia, but the warm weather that has predominated for the last few weeks is bringing fruit trees out of dormancy.  Sometimes this works out okay; sometimes it does not end well.

The Sauerkraut Tide

I noticed this the last (and first) time I made kraut in the fermenting crock, but didn't comment on it.  This time it has been a little more dramatic.

There's a definite ebb and flow of the water level (in addition to evaporation, which is slow and steady).  One morning I noticed the moat was almost dry, so added back up to the bottom of the notch.  The liquid level had overflowed a few hours later.  I then remembered what Holly mentions on her fermenting crock how-to page.  Pressure changes can pull water up.  I think it might also be related to changes inside the vessel itself.  At any rate, I haven't tried seeing if I can jiggle the lid and liberate the water, but I am now not as disturbed if I see a sudden water level change.

It has been almost three weeks; I'm going to try to let it go another week to 28 days.  The house is still cool (65-70).