Large Mushrooms and Tiny Froglets!

Here on the Bayou, it has been raining most every day.  Usually, this is just a shower or two but still we have been getting a lot of moisture as of late.  I am not complaining as I love the rain!  I especially love to hike around the Bayou after an early (predawn) shower.  I can step softly and the wet grass muffles my footsteps.  It is times like this that I can observe so many things!  This morning, however, I really needn't have worried about my footsteps being muffled.  It seemed that nary a creature minded my being out and about!  Of course, with Ms. Ez choosing to stay in her bed, the critters did not have to be worried about a huge dog chasing them!  Still, it was that quiet time that I truly enjoyed.

As I rounded the back of the house, I came across some of the largest mushrooms that I have seen in a while!  Michael had just cut this portion of the lawn yesterday so I was sort of surprised to see these.  With the ragweed dangling just above them, the mushrooms were sort of pretty even if they might have been of some toxic kind.  I do not profess to know which mushrooms are edible and which might kill you so I tend to just admire them from afar.  And admire these, I did!  Each cap was approximately eight inches in diameter!  I kept thinking that some happy, little gnome should be perched atop the mushroom!

While I was using the imagination staring at the mushrooms, behind me the pond was alive with frogs!  I could hear dozens of adult frogs calling at each other.  Ok..I must check that out as well!  The Water Hyacinths have just about taken over the small Frog Pond again and will have to be thinned yet again this summer.  I sort of hate to do this as right now, these hyacinths are providing good hiding places for the tiny froglets that are coming from the pond.  The tadpoles are transforming into adult frogs and need some safe place to hide from birds, snakes and even the Leopard Frogs that also inhabit the small pond.  This morning there were a number of tiny froglets climbing out of the water some even with a remnant of tail still not fully absorbed.  With all of the rains, it has been a good year for these amphibians.  The pond water is still filled with all stages of the critters from eggs to tadpoles to froglets to adults!  If their nightly serenades are any clue, this cycle will continue for quite some time.  What started with dysfunctional fish pond has been quite the success as the Frog Pond!

Yep, it seems that my morning hike sans Ms. Ez, the dog, was still quite enjoyable.  Large mushrooms and tiny froglets can make me smile any time!