The Amphitheater!

  Sometimes it just pays to advertise.  If you are the loudest, the flashiest or just the most obnoxious, it does draw attention to whatever you are selling.  At the moment, the frogs are "selling" themselves.  The Frog Pond is overflowing with all sorts of frogs and toads since the heavy rains brought them all into breeding season.  They all wish to draw attention to themselves in the loudest way possible.  All night long, the Bayou is blaring with their love serenades.  To say it is loud here at night is a gross understatement.  It is deafening!  A lot of visitors to the Little Bayou House find it so loud that it interferes with their sleep.  Personally, I enjoy the "music".  There is something soothing about frogs chirping and croaking at night.  At least I know that there are no intruders about the place as the cacophony stops immediately with the first step of an outsider.  It is sort of like an alarm system in reverse!

  Lately, the noise is nonstop even during the daytime.  A few of the frogs/toads wish to get a headstart on coaxing a mate so they never stop calling.  I guess the competition is too great at night so these guys hope to beat the rush.  This afternoon, I heard one frog calling that was much louder than all the others.  This one sounded like it had a megaphone!  I pondered the fact a bit then decided to investigate. Once I neared the pond, I realized that the call was coming from inside a hollow tree stump that I had placed in the pond as a decoration.  I loved the way the old stump looked mixed in with the lilies and hyacinths.  It was a perfect fit.  Obviously, the little frog liked the looks of the old stump as well.  It had taken up residence inside the hollowed out area of the stump.  Aww!  Cute!

  
  Perhaps that frog was a bit smarter than all of the others.  Its voice was projected louder than all of the others.  That old hollow stump was acting like an amphitheater!  The frog sounded much stronger than all the rest and if frogs go by the "survival of the fittest" mantra, then this guy has it made!

  The frog that moved into the stump is actually called a Eastern Narrowmouth Toad.  Yep...toad!  In reality it is a frog and that frog has a call that sounds a lot like a loud, long "waaaaaaaaaaah!"  Just imagine that noise amplified a good bit!  I was tickled to see this frog as they are nocturnal and can be a bit hard to find.  Here lately, I have been noticing a lot of these guys.  Usually, I uncover them while moving rotten limbs or piles of rotted leaves. It does make me happy since their primary food source is ants and we sure have a lot of ants lately.  Perhaps that survival of the fittest is what brought so many of these frogs to the Bayou.  With the overabundance of ants, something needed to move in to munch on them!  I, personally, would rather have a hoard of cute little frogs than a mess of biting fire ants!  

  Tonight, it is easy to pick out the smart frog that chose the stage to perform.  His call is loud and clear among the hundreds of other calls. Bullfrogs, Leopard Frogs, Green Tree Frogs, Brown Tree Frogs, American Toads and now Eastern Narrowmouth Toads are all singing their hearts out all in the name of love!