As the spring temperatures rise into the 40s F and the sun rises daily giving its warmth more meaning, creatures in our soils will come forth.  Some amphibians will return to pools up to a fifth-mile away from those where they were hatched to mate and start families.   The pools without fish, many very small, are called vernal pools.  Hundreds pock our fields and woodlands. The Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act wisely protects them.  This year on Tuesday, March 26, Topsfield naturalist James Macdougall will speak about these pools and their creatures prior to the Middleton Stream Team’s spring hike to be held on Saturday, April 6.    Please join the Stream Team at the Flint Public Library, Middleton center, 7 PM.  Macdougall’s presentation will be followed by a question and answer period and refreshments.  Learn about wood frogs, salamanders, fairy shrimp, and scores of other organisms that live in ephemeral pools near you.  An announcement for the hike will follow.   Please check the Middleton Stream Team’s web site https://www.middletonstreamteam.org.