The Word Is Out!

  Well, the word must have gotten out that the water is great as the Frog Pond is seeing a lot of activity.  After doing a complete "makeover" of the pond, the frogs were a bit scarce.  Most likely, the frogs were a bit leery of the new surroundings. Perhaps it seemed just a bit too clean or perhaps me sloshing around in their territory made them uneasy but for a few days, I was hard pressed to find even a single one.  I was starting to think that my hard work was in vain.

  Now, two weeks after the fact, all is well.  Frogs of all sorts are accumulating in the pond. Years past, at least six different types of frogs and toads utilized the little pond as their nursery. During spring and summer, a nightly serenade would start just about dark and go well into the night. The different calls would blend together to form the perfect harmony.  It was relaxing to listen to the serenade each evening.

   Today, just a few scoops of a net produced several fat tadpoles as well.  These tadpoles were transferred back into the pond after the cleaning from a temporary hold.  I am glad to see that they had, not only survived, but thrived.  Our warm winter allowed the tadpoles to overwinter with ease. The water never iced so instead of burrowing down deep, the tadpoles stayed active.  Soon, these will morph into frogs and start the process all over again.  In the meantime, however, the adult frogs will keep on doing their thing and more eggs will soon fill the pond.  By mid-April, thousands of tadpoles of all sizes will be found happily sunning themselves on the shallow sides.  The Frog Pond redo was a success!  All it needs now is a few more plants and a bench and we are ready for frog-watching!