Mass Migration!

  Enough was enough!  With all of the activity in the little Frog Pond the water had become quite foul.  Since there is no input except for rainfall, it does not take long for the pond to become stagnant.  Add about a billion frogs and toads doing their thing and the pond needs a little help.  My job for today was to drain a bit of the water and add fresh. This is not a problem since I have an electric pump with a long drain hose. Once the pump was fitted in the bottom of the pond and the hose nicely dumping water under the plum and citrus trees, I was able to relax a bit.  It was then that I noticed the mass migration of tiny frogs.  They were leaving the pond and all headed down to the Bayou.  I thought that this was rather strange.  Why would the frogs lay their eggs in my tiny pond just to have the little ones make the trek all the way back to the Bayou. Why not just lay the eggs in the Bayou in the first place?  After noticing how tiny the frogs were, I made the assumption that perhaps they were safer in the little pond.  There are not a lot of predators slinking about the Frog Pond other than other frogs or perhaps a snake or two.  

  Still, that trek to the Bayou was treacherous.  I know that I must have inadvertently smashed a few under the soles of my moccasins but the real threat came from ants.  The poor little froggies had no idea that those sandy mounds were the home of some pretty ferocious predators that were just waiting to attack.  More than once, I had to reach down and help some little guys out of a dire predicament.  Had they stayed around the ant hill long, they would have been painfully killed.  Another threat came in the form of birds.  Once the blue jays discovered the mob of tiny froglets, the call went out for all birds to search for a free meal.  The little froglets had to scamper quickly to hide beneath the grass.  There, if they are smart, they will hide until dusk.  Perhaps under the cloak of darkness, they can safely finish their migration to the murky waters of the Bayou.

  One rather large frog refused to vacate the little Frog Pond as I was cleaning it. This frog sat eyeing my every move.  Perhaps this one is a permanent resident and has no inclination of heading back to the Bayou or creek.  If so, I am happy to have it here.  It is quite the lovely frog and will eat lots of bugs from the gardens.  It was still there by late afternoon when the pond was refilled.  The adult frog had not joined the mass migration of froglets.  Either it was ready to lay more eggs, smart or just plain lazy.  I am not sure which!