Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Name At The Top

I know the name at the top of the page says 'Fish and Frog - Turtle and Blog' but I must confess we haven't had very many frog posts lately. In fact we haven't had any since the early part of summer when we had tadpoles and tiny frogs by the hundreds (or more likely thousands). There's a good reason for that. We just haven't seen a lot of frogs, at least not the sizable ones.

Of course we saw the odd toad fairly frequently during the summer. Most of those were in the woods or near our houses, not near the pond.
And we continued to see the really tiny frogs along the edge of the pond all the time. I must admit I was a bit surprised by this. They do not seem much bigger than they were when we originally saw hundreds of them months ago, but I see they actually have grown some when I compare them to the earlier photographs. I just expected them to grow a bit larger.
But as for the larger frogs, we just haven't seen many despite the fact that we saw lots of the large tadpoles during the spring. During the early summer we would listen to their mating calls in the evening and could distinguish several different species. Those calls slowly faded away for the most part within a month or so.

I was sure there were some larger frogs around. I could see them from a distance as they jumped into the pond upon my approach. But sneaking up on them for a shot was another matter. Now over the past few weeks I've begun to see a few of them up close.

There was this little guy settled comfortably in the mud along the edge of the water. Larger than the others, but still not what I was looking for. I'm still a little curious about what he was planning to do with that sword-looking stick he has his left front leg wrapped around.

Then a few days ago I found this guy below. Finally, a larger, more interesting frog. Nice patterns and very clean. Out in the open. A good subject if ever there was one.

He just sat there for me as I approached. He even stayed motionless as I sat down cross-legged right before him to take a few shots. Finally he jumped into a small bit of grass which prevented a good clean view. I figured I would use my hand to ease him back out of the grass and into the open so I could get a different angle for a clean shot.
Well he had other ideas. Rather than go where he should go he decided to hop right up in my lap. Now I'm sure that would have made a great video with me trying to squirm around and free the frog (that was now falling between my legs) while not squashing him flat. He was moving a little too fast for me to catch him with my left hand while holding the camera in my right.

And then he disappeared. He just vanished. We never knew where he went, but you can be sure I was soon standing upright and checking things out considering I had on a pair of rather loose-fitting shorts at the time and I wasn't ready for any sudden surprises. Now I'm not afraid of frogs or anything like that, but in my opinion there are certain limits that don't need to be crossed in this communing with nature stuff.

7 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your post Baker; your antics with frogs made me giggle - especially your closing comments.

    Strange about frog development; I've been seeing the odd tadpole or two in my garden pond very recently. Two days ago I saw a tadpole - but it now had arms and legs and still carrying the tail! Really weird for the beginning of Autumn!!

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  2. So funny Baker....the last part of your post did make me smile.....

    Beautiful frogs....lovely colours....again so different from those I find in my garden....

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  3. tricia - glad you appreciated my predicament, lol - it's odd about your tadpoles but I guess from time to time individuals just get out of cycle with nature and weather

    cheryl - I thought you might appreciate that one since you once wanted to see a shot of a dragonfly on my nose, lol - Thanks for dropping by and glad you liked the frogs

    Baker

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  4. I have so been there, done that. Wild things never seem to go where they 'should'. Just when you're sure they're going to zig, they inevitably zag.

    Thanks for the laugh. 8-]

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  5. Nice frog photos. A few years back when we had a bonfire one night a huge toad got too close to the fire, so I went to rescue the little guy to save his life. He jumped right into the fire and burned himself to death. The friends around the fire called me a murderer. I was only trying to help the poor guy. We have had less frogs and toads around our home also. By the way, I really enjoy your blogs and check in often. Thanks for sharing your pond and for checking out my meadow too. Many blessings...Elizabeth

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  6. I had to smile at the thought of a frog down your shorts....I hear the frogs until July and then they are gone and I don't see or hear them. I have to research that...

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  7. Great pictures! I enjoyed your post - I can't do this theme as I'm out of town waiting on my first grand baby.

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Thanks for stopping by to visit our little pond. We would love to see you again real soon.