Well Hidden in Plain Sight

  Living on the Bayou, I have learned one thing.  If nothing else, I have learned to watch where I step.  While it is not often that I find a snake on my walks, occasionally I will cross paths with one.  We will both hesitate long enough to give each other the "once over", as my grandmother used to say.  After making sure neither of us has plans of harming the other, we go on our merry ways.  It is a rare occasion that I will kill a snake or any critter, for that matter.

  Recently, another critter and I shared the same path.  This one was so well camouflaged that I almost missed it.  A small toad was in an area that is filled with gravel to catch the runoff from the rooftop.  The glorifed drain runoff fills with leaves and needs to be cleaned to work properly.  With all of the rains that  have been pelting the Bayou, this chore could not be postponed.  So I tackled it.  Armed with a rake and little else, I started clearing the debris from the long ditch.  Had the toad not hopped, I would have never noticed it.  The critter blended so well with its surroundings, when I photographed it, I still had trouble finding it!  

  Check the photograph!  I promise, there is a toad in there!  This was my happy find for the day.  Yep, toad frogs and snakes do, indeed, make me happy.  I am just glad that a snake did not find my little toad friend!  Maybe his camouflage works!

The New Little "Bayou" House!

  While we are doing a lot of renovating on the Little Bayou House, the new little Bayou House is not ours.  Several years ago during December, Son found a hollow stump back in the creek and lugged the thing home to me. "Merry Christmas, Mom!" was his only explanation.  None other was needed.  He knew that I would love having the stump as an addition to the garden.  Well, the thing did not make it to the garden as I decided it would be much nicer to have IN the Frog Pond.  There the thing sat for years without much attention.  Every now and again, a frog would venture into the stump but, for the most part, the thing sat there looking pretty with its moss covered bark.  Well, since the bullfrogs have moved into the little pond, things have changed drastically.  Not only have these frogs taken over the pond but they have also laid claim to the stump.  I have to admit that they are rather adorable peering out the little "windows"!

  Speaking of these bullfrogs, I have befriended the big male.  He has lost all fear of me and will not budge an inch when I pester the poor fellow. Today, I was actually able to "pet" the critter as much as a frog can be petted.  Yesterday, just out of curiosity, I tied a small piece of jute cord to a longer thin string.  After fraying the ends of the jute, I swung it out over the lily pads.  Yep, that old frog decided the makeshift bug looked awfully appetizing.  The more I would wiggle that string, the more he would give chase.  He and I had a fine game for about ten minutes.  Yes...I do play with most critters here on the Bayou.

  I am still a bit worried about my tree frogs and toads but Son has offered to help me modify the small "bogs" that we created for the clue hunt last October.  These should suffice as nurseries for the tiny froglets if we can get the adults interested in moving into the area.  I hate to make the bullfrogs vacate their new home if we can find accommodations for the other critters!  That way, everyone will be happy!

Bad time to get out of the pool!

  The American Green Tree Frog tadpoles have been doing their morphing into froglets this whole week.  Between those and the baby toads, the yard is hopping with wee froglets!  It is impossible to take a single step without having a few underfoot.  Fortunately, they seem to be able to flatten themselves enough that a simple footstep does not harm them.  The shoe has to be twisted into the dirt before they have problems.  My soft, leather moccasins seem to do no damage but, just to be on the safe side, I step lightly. The little froglets climb up on anything handy during this stage of their life.  My waterlilies and water hyacinths seem to be a fine perching point for the change to occur.  At any given time, hundreds of little froggies can be observed in the water plants if you know where to look. The green tree frogs' color gives them the perfect camouflage while on the leaves.  If one did not know that the frogs were climbing onto the plants, they might be passed unseen..at least by humans.

  I watched as the little froglets left the safety of the Frog Pond to climb upon the lily pads.  Mostly, this even went smoothly.  The froglets were able to rest and finish their change from tadpole to full frog in the warm sunshine.  One, however, met with danger right at the beginning!  Poor little froglet chose the wrong water hyacinth as its perch.  It climbed up the first stalk to be met face to face by a wolf spider!  Granted this was a smallish spider but it still would have made a meal of such a tiny frog! The froggy spied the spider and immediately slipped back into the water.  Froggy then chose a different hyacinth to use as his exit spot. Meanwhile, the spider sat quite still as it awaited another meal to make its way onto the hyacinth.  Froggy was safe for the time being.  Once he climbed onto the leaf, he sat still to warm in the sun before making the full exit from the pond.  This path led him up the stalk of a Spiderwort plant onto the wisteria vine.  From there he made his way to the top of the arbor to hide beneath the vines until nightfall.  

  Out of the thousands of baby frogs and toads that exit the Frog Pond, a good many will fall prey to such things as this spider.  Predators are many when you are so tiny but tiny or not, the frogs and toads are predators themselves.  They rid the gardens of myriads of bugs!  Love my froggies!



 

Almost too well hidden!

  Camouflage is a much needed trait among critters in the wild.  It is necessary especially among the very young.  While just babes, critters have to be able to go unseen to prevent becoming a meal for a larger critter.  It is a way of life which we humans sometimes forget.  Our young are cared for while they are tiny and not left out to fend for themselves.  (It is a good thing it is this way as I know even a lot of adults that would not fare so well if left in the wild. I cannot imagine a wee human being able to fetch food or fend off predators!)  But in the wild, a lot of critters do just that.  Mom and Dad are not around to see to the raising of their offspring. Worse, yet, is the fact that sometimes Mom and Dad become predators to their own young!  This camouflage is a grand thing indeed!  It not only hides critters from predators but also gives them the edge on catching their own prey.  When tiny, every mouthful becomes quite precious so having the ability to blend in with one's environment once again is a necessity.  

  This afternoon, though, that same helpful camouflage almost became a critter's undoing!  I was in the garden checking the progress of the tomato plants.  Not once did I survey the ground before taking a step.  Most of us do not.  Perhaps we should.  Just how many critters are literally underfoot?  I flicked a worm off the tomato plant and suddenly a movement caught my eye.  It was the slightest of movements and I wondered if perhaps I had not seen it at all.  I stared at the ground. Hmmm?  Something was there, I know!  It had to be!  Sure enough at that moment, a tiny toad took another hop.  That thing was no bigger than a minute!  It was surely smaller than a pea!  It was camouflaged well, though, perhaps too well!  I almost squished it flat!  I got down on my hands and knees to examine further and found dozens of tiny toads hopping about the garden!  The Frog Pond obviously has been a busy place!

  The coloration of the tiny toad was so in tune with the dirt that even after I saw it, my eyes would not stay focused.  I took several photographs and then had difficulty seeing the toad in the pictures!  I am glad that the tiny toad is in the garden.  There, it should find lots to eat and should be a huge help to me.  I say "good riddance" to the insects that it eats! 

"I love you to death!" or "Love Hurts"

  Hmmm?  Have you ever said anything like this?  I love you to death.   Seems a tad strange if ever you really think about it.  Can you really love someone to death?  I am not sure just how to take the phrase.  Anyway, it seems that in the critter world this really can (and does occasionally) happen.  Perhaps more in the amphibian world or more precisely in the toad world.  Warning! ** If you are of the squeamish type, you may not want to read any further nor view the pictures attached.  The description and the pictures are quite harsh and graphic.**

  First thing this morning, I headed out the back door to stoke my leaf burner.  This thing has been burning nonstop for nigh on three weeks now.  The ice storms took a hefty toll on our citrus trees causing all of the leaves to drop.  The thirty-plus feet tall grapefruit tree had leaves stacked about a foot high beneath it. Burning them was the easiest and quickest way to rid the yard of them therefore preventing a fire hazard. While heading down the path to the burner, I passed the small Frog Pond. Last night was a busy night there. The American Toads have decided that it is springtime and "love" is in the air.  The males' shrill calls for females filled the night.  By the end of the week, the pond will be filled with the long strands of fertilized eggs. As I meandered, I glanced in the pond.  What was that?  Down in the bottom of the pond, three white things could be seen.  Without my trusty glasses, I was not positive but those three things looked a lot like toads....three toads that were taking a nice long slumber on the bottom of the pond.  Wait a minute!  That does not happen! Especially with the toads being belly up.  Those toads were dead!  I needed my glasses.  I headed back inside to fetch the spectacles and the camera.  (Ok, I gave you fair warning!)

  Sure enough when I looked again, the toads were indeed quite dead. They appeared rather mutilated to be honest.  Well, that would not do!  I had just cleaned that little pond and dead things did not belong there!  So the nasty job of retrieving the dead toads commenced.  Of course, I cannot leave things well enough alone.  I had to examine the toads.  It was quite the grisly ordeal but if I wanted to determine just what killed the toads, I had to do it.  Ummm, one was rather badly mutilated.  What I thought was a third toad was merely a portion of one of the others.  It was then that I realized that both toads were female and I became fully aware what had happened.  Love hurts...or in this case...killed.  In the frenzy to mate, male toads try to rip the female from an opposing male's clutch.  If only a few females answer the "call", there is an intense battle between the many males.  The poor little female catches the brunt of their hostility. She is literally ripped to pieces.  These two females were killed by the onslaught of males.  One odd thing about this whole situation is the fact that although the female was killed, her eggs could possibly live since the eggs are fertilized after she expels them.  It has been observed that once the dominate male realizes that the female has perished, he can literally "squeeze" her enough to force the eggs from her lifeless body.  As ruthless as this may seem, it is a survival tactic.  The dominant male can still procreate.   No parental care of the eggs is needed after the fertilization takes place.  (The next picture is really upsetting...third warning!)

  It made me sad to see the small lifeless bodies of the two female toads. The survival of the fittest is sometimes cruel and barbaric.  In the amphibian world, reproduction is far from a loving matter. Two little toads have been laid to rest beneath the Ruby Lilies.  

Good deeds...warts and all....

Sometimes Ms. Ez worries me.  Lately, she has not been acting like her old self.  Usually, she is spot on when it comes to chasing critters about the hillside. I never had to worry about squirrels in the bird feeders or rabbits in the gardens.  Coons never stood a chance!  No matter where she saw one, she would race to chase them far into the marsh.  Now..either she has decided it is far too hot to do all that running or her senses are starting to wane.  I am a tad bit worried that her eyesight might be failing.  Each day sees her chasing a nonexistent critter up the same tree while the real deal simply ambles off to enjoy afternoon free from torment.  The dog also has problems with stepping on birds and small reptiles that might happen to be caught in the path to that old tree.  More than once a dove, turtle or frog has been literally flattened by the heavy feet of the seventy-plus pound dog that barrels out the front door.  Thank goodness for all of the rains this summer as the ground is soft.  When she smashes a critter, they usually survive!

One toad almost did not make it, though.  As Ms. Ez stormed out of the door, down the steps and out the gate to chase that nowhere-to-be-seen squirrel, she stepped right on top of the poor critter!  I rushed over to see if perhaps the poor thing needed some assistance but was fully relieved that no resuscitation was necessary!  (Thank goodness for (huge) blessings!  I do not think I could have even attempted resuscitating a toad!  Still, it is one of God's creatures and perhaps I could have just pressed its tummy or something!)  As I stared at the toad, I realized that it had received the full impact of the humongous dog paw while sitting on an old beam that forms the steps to the board path.  There was no soft, squishy dirt beneath the toad.  Poor little fellow!  He was still somewhat flat!  Squished!  And, not to mention, dazed!  I poked the toad and it gave me the most pathetic look.  "Are you going to smash me, too?" was what I imagined the toad would have said had it been able to speak to me.  Nope, Little Toad, I am not nearly as clumsy as Ms. Ez!  That was when I noticed that the lumbering dog was on her way back up the hill!  Oh, no!  That poor toad was going to be right in line for a second smashing if I did not do something quick!  Telling Ezzy to stop mid-run is like trying to stop a freight train heading down the tracks!  It ain't happenin'!  Not knowing what else to do, I reached down and scooped up the toad!  This frightened the poor critter as much as Ms. Ez's gigantic paw!  The toad, being totally incapacitated with pain and fear, did what came natural...it peed on me!  Ugh!  Little Toad, I was trying to help you!!!!  Well, so much for being kind!  So much for doing good deeds!  So much for saving nature!  No..I did not toss the toad away like some icky monster.  I merely (gently, I might add) placed it among the day lilies and wished it well.  Ugh...toad pee stinks!  Eww!  At least, contrary to all of the Old Wive's Tales, I should not be getting any warts from this toad....I hope!

The Frog Pond is hopping!

With all of the rain that has fallen in the past week, the Frog Pond is quite the active place..hehe..you could say it was "Hopping"!  Still not feeling the best, I decided to follow "doctor's orders" and be lazy.  Well, I just could not stay inside so I went to check the pond for any recent additions.  Sure enough just as I imagined, there were tons of new eggs!  Every night, the American Green Tree Frogs have been calling with their high-pitched chirps and the American Toads with their shrill tunes.  (Seems as if I have an "All American Frog Pond..how patriotic can you get??)  Numerous tadpoles of various sizes already filled the pond so unless they get a move on and grow up, the area will be overrun!   As I was peering into the depths of the water, I noticed that the strings of toad eggs were wrapped through and around the Water Hyacinths.  Uh-oh...that was not supposed to happen!  Not the fact about the toad eggs..the Water Hyacinths being plural...as in they were multiplying!

A little toad visiting the Frog Pond!

About a month ago, Mark brought me a single Water Hyacinth that he found floating in the Bay.  He knows that I always like to keep the Frog Pond supplied with lots of plants as this gives the critters places to hide from any predators.  I told him that I would keep the Hyacinth in check and not give in to its wishes to take over the pond.  Ha!  Too late!  I had no idea that it would multiply this quickly!  Of course in all fairness, I have not been particularly observant of any outdoor activities of late so it has been over a week since I last checked!  I had the thought of ripping the Hyacinth from the pond but that meant I would kill a goodly number of "future" toads.  The Hyacinths will stay for now.

Water Hyacinths in mass production!  

Water Hyacinths can be highly invasive since they are one of the fastest growing plants.  They can double their population every two weeks clogging waterways and choking out any other aquatic plants!  I would definitely have to pull and discard some but that will have to wait until I feel a bit better.  Struggling with a rake at this point seems a bit strenuous!  The good news?  The Hyacinths are floaters making harvesting them relatively easy.  They have bulbous stalks that keep the whole plant afloat.  The roots hang down into the water gathering nutrients to feed the plant.

A closeup of some of the strings of toad's eggs wrapped around the Water Hyacinth's roots.

The bad news..I gave a single plant to my sister for her Dragonfly Pond a couple of weeks ago.  I do suppose I should contact her.  Perhaps she should keep an eye on her pond just in case she has an overactive Water Hyacinth, too!

Froggy Nights!

The nightly serenade continues with both the Green Tree Frogs and the American Toads joining the chorus. Their buzzing, chirping and trilling starts in the early evening and carries on long into the night. It sometimes is almost deafening! The froggy pond is on the north side of the house just outside of the kitchen window so when this cacophony begins..the window shuts! This does not completely block out the sound but rather just dulls it enough to make it tolerable! I do have to be quite careful around the house as the tree frogs somehow can wiggle their way inside. Last week, I found one sitting on top of the washing machine! I had gone to the laundry room and spied the little critter just snoozing away! A quick snatch and I had him! Out onto the porch I went to deposit the froggy on the pear tree! Another made its way between the window and screen in the bedroom of all places. This time, Son did the honors and the second frog was released into the pear tree.

While out walking yesterday, I noticed quite a few ripples in the frog pond and on closer inspection realized that it was tadpoles..lots and lots of tadpoles! Now to me, all tadpoles look alike so I could not tell you if these are toads or frogs but there are masses! Some are much larger than the others so perhaps those are older or of a different type. The toad eggs are connected with a stringy, gelatinous goo whereas the frogs are more blobby-like. Several of the lilypads were covered with the tiny gooey eggs so I am assuming those are the tree frogs'. The tadpoles had all gathered to the side of the pond to bask in the warm sunshine. A few were in "tidepools" created by the cupping of the waterlilies. I was happy to see my frog pond so healthy!

In a few days, the tree frogs should be developing their legs and crawling up on the lilypads. Last year, hundreds upon hundreds of the little frogs made their way from the pond. Some went to the flower gardens, some to the fruit trees, some to the berry vines and still others to the canebrake. Frogs were everywhere! All of those frogs account for the nightly chorus of this season! Froggy Nights!!!!

Yellow Toad!

I am sure Spring is here! I have definite proof other than the usual warm weather or budding plants..I have toads! Yep! The toads have come out of hibernation in full force! The little Dragonfly Pond on the side of the house has been the scene of a nightly chorus of their shrill mating calls for the past week. The whistle like calls start just after dark and last for hours and hours. The male toads will seek out water holes and will start their calling. The females are attracted to this call and will swarm to the area to mate and lay hundreds of eggs. The eggs are in long strings and are attached to water plants, sticks or any object that is underwater. I know these things because it seems that every toad within miles comes to sing their serenades in my yard! The sound at times can almost be deafening!

One of the usual toads in the yard.

The toads in this area are, more likely than not, one of two types..the American Toad or the Southern Toad. Both of these can be found in several colors..brown, grey and sort of a brick-red. It is hard to distinguish between the two in the middle of the night while this chorus is taking place so I have no clue as to which is utilizing my little pond...perhaps both do! Anyway, since this nightly serenading has been happening, I see a lot of toads in the yard during the daytime hours. This is not a problem for me..I like toads! They eat a lot of bugs! I welcome them into the garden and their bug-eating habit has even made me more tolerant of their efforts to deprive me of sleep!

A pale colored toad that is visiting the Bayou! I named it "Yellow Toad"!

All of this brings me to the reason of this post! This morning when I was out digging up and transplanting some Shasta Daisies that had decided to grow in the lawn instead of the garden, I came across a strange toad! I did not recognize this type of toad! This was a yellow toad! A pale, buttery yellow but yellow just the same! Yes, it did have brown blotches on it but the yellow hue stood out like a sore thumb! This poor toad did not seem to fit in with the other toads! I stared at the little toad...."Why are you yellow, Yellow Toad?" I began to ponder the situation. I could not for the life of me come up with a positive answer. Could this little toad be albino? Could its pale color be accounted for by its surroundings while it hibernated? Could it be an entirely different species of toad? I do not know. I just hope Yellow Toad hangs around the garden and that its pale color does not make it an easy target for some predator.

A Bayou Serenade!

The Bayou is loud tonight! The Songs of Spring are ringing in the night air! This brings back memories of sitting on the screened front porch just listening to the sounds of the night. Not only are the crickets chirping from the mulch in the rose garden, the locusts (cicadas for those not from Mississippi) are buzzing in the treetops. Then there is the cacophony of frog voices rising above the Bayou. The old Bullfrogs with their deep-throated thunder, the high pitch of the Tree Frogs, the raspy almost clicking sound of the Leopard Frogs and the shrill warble of the American Toads can only mean one thing..Spring romance! Each Spring, the small pond is filled with frog and toad eggs..the little black dots surrounded by the gooey, gelatinous blobs are the frog eggs while the strings of eggs are from the toads. These eggs will hatch into the millions of tadpoles and eventually morph into adult frogs and toads. By tomorrow morning there will be millions of eggs in both tiny ponds and any other suitable water area. Suitable can mean anything that holds water..buckets, ditches, flower pots and even the birdbath and dog's water dish. All are considered nurseries to frogs and toads..a place to raise tadpoles!

The American Toad loves to hop around the garden most of the year just minding its own business. It eats a ton of bugs so I welcome it. The Leopard Frogs are shy and tend to hide during the day while the Tree Frogs want to be near the house. They take advantage of any outdoor light fixture. It is not uncommon to find them on porches and patios. But the old Bullfrogs stay for the most part down deep in the Bayou. Their rhythmic booms echo over the marsh and through the tall pines. I think I love the Bullfrogs the most. They remind me of the pond at my childhood home. There the Bullfrogs would croak day and night as they tried to tell us how to run the world. With the state of the nation and world today, the leaders could probably learn a thing or two from the frogs..if we could only get them to agree to listen!

I used to complain loudly about the toads especially. Their trills are almost deafening but it was the masses of eggs that they produced that bothered me. The ponds would literally be filled with the gelatinous strings of eggs. These strings would be attached or even woven through any plant or stick in the pond. I always hated pulling this mess from the water lilies. I would get my boys to go out with scoop nets to catch the toads and move them to a pond down the road a ways. Not that this did much good for the next night, it seemed as if they were back and had brought their friends! Then one evening, it dawned on me. Yes..I would have a mess to clean but with this mess was a blessing. I could hear! The shrill song became a music to my ears regardless to what was to be the next day. I was blessed to be able to hear their songs. Since then..I love to hear the toads, frogs, crickets and any other Bayou critter that wants to sing for me!

Frogs croaking, toads warbling..music..sweet music to the ears of this country girl from the Deep South. A Bayou Serenade! Like in the post from June 19th..A Froggy Symphony!