4.08.12 We need rain!! This vernal pool is more like a puddle already, and the amphibians have barely laid their eggs. Spotted salamander eggs are encased in a thick layer of jelly which is firm enough to hold its shape out of water. They have a whitish-appearance in the water. The wood frog eggs don't have a jelly casing; the mass attaches to twigs and submerged vegetation. There were many such egg masses in this shrinking pool.