Hiding Out!

  Sometimes, you just have to find a secret spot and hide out for a while.  It is a good way to collect your thoughts, find inner peace and do a bit of meditation.  It is, also, a good way to escape the heat!  While I had no idea of hiding out today, a sweet friend decided it was the best way to spend the day.

  After lunch today, a trip to the compost was necessary.  The walk to the pile takes me past the Frog Pond which is where my sweet friend resides.  Yep, it is a frog.  Try as I might, I could not find my little buddy.  Just as I was beginning to think a coon or fox had caught the frog, a small croak made me realize otherwise.  The critter was merely hiding from the bright sunshine and heat of the day.  On one part of the bank, a rather large piece of driftwood has been strategically placed to create a ramp for turtles or any other stranded critters that cannot climb the steep incline.  Part of this driftwood sits about four inches above the pond edging and that is where the froggy was hiding.  He had found a nice shady spot to spend the midday!  Smart frog!

  It is a little known fact that frogs can breathe through their skin.  When the frog is completely underwater, all of its oxygen is absorbed through its skin but even when the frog is ashore, that process can take place.  It does however have to remain in a cool, moist spot to allow for this. This is the main reason frogs are more active at night and hide during the day.  When the night air cools and the humidity rises, the skin stays damp.  During the daytime, a frog will hide beneath a log (or driftwood, in Froggy's case), in some crevice or nestled deep in mulch.  Not only is Froggy staying cool, he is breathing!  Breathe in, breathe out (even if it through your skin! Find your peace, Froggy!