Froggy Nights!

The nightly serenade continues with both the Green Tree Frogs and the American Toads joining the chorus. Their buzzing, chirping and trilling starts in the early evening and carries on long into the night. It sometimes is almost deafening! The froggy pond is on the north side of the house just outside of the kitchen window so when this cacophony begins..the window shuts! This does not completely block out the sound but rather just dulls it enough to make it tolerable! I do have to be quite careful around the house as the tree frogs somehow can wiggle their way inside. Last week, I found one sitting on top of the washing machine! I had gone to the laundry room and spied the little critter just snoozing away! A quick snatch and I had him! Out onto the porch I went to deposit the froggy on the pear tree! Another made its way between the window and screen in the bedroom of all places. This time, Son did the honors and the second frog was released into the pear tree.

While out walking yesterday, I noticed quite a few ripples in the frog pond and on closer inspection realized that it was tadpoles..lots and lots of tadpoles! Now to me, all tadpoles look alike so I could not tell you if these are toads or frogs but there are masses! Some are much larger than the others so perhaps those are older or of a different type. The toad eggs are connected with a stringy, gelatinous goo whereas the frogs are more blobby-like. Several of the lilypads were covered with the tiny gooey eggs so I am assuming those are the tree frogs'. The tadpoles had all gathered to the side of the pond to bask in the warm sunshine. A few were in "tidepools" created by the cupping of the waterlilies. I was happy to see my frog pond so healthy!

In a few days, the tree frogs should be developing their legs and crawling up on the lilypads. Last year, hundreds upon hundreds of the little frogs made their way from the pond. Some went to the flower gardens, some to the fruit trees, some to the berry vines and still others to the canebrake. Frogs were everywhere! All of those frogs account for the nightly chorus of this season! Froggy Nights!!!!