Private Pond!

   When is a toad not a toad?  Answer...when it is a frog.  That's right.  As crazy as it may seem, while all toads are frogs, not all frogs are toads. Make sense?  Nope?  Good.  Because it does not to me either. This evening's focus is on the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad...which happens to be a frog and NOT a toad.

  I was sitting in the rocking chair listening to evening fall around me when I heard a strange sound.  (Yes, you really can "hear" evening on the Bayou just like you can hear daybreak. The two sound totally different.)  Like I said, I heard an unusual sound.  Something was calling just to my right.  There was a small deck there with a few potted plants, a bench and a few knickknacks.  Not a one of those could be making that high-pitched "waaaaa!"  There was just enough light left in the day for me to go on a critter search!   It only took a few moments before I realized that the sound was coming from a large pan that held rainwater.  I had put a some of the flowers in the pan to allow them to soak up the life-giving water and, obviously, this tiny critter with the big mouth had decided it was home.  While the Toad Pond is on the other side of the house,swimming around in the pan was an Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  The little guy had his own personal-sized pond and we all know what that call was.  Yep, this little guy was letting his ladylove know that he found a suitable puddle for their nursery.  He just needed her to realize that he was the right frog for the job of daddyhood.

  One weird thing about these frogs is that while they have an ear-piercing call, they make that sound while almost completely submerged.  Only their little snouts will be above water.  Now a good thing about my little toad frog (heehee That finally fits!)  Ants and termites are the preferred diet of the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  This little froggy has suddenly become a favorite of mine.  He can eat all of the ants and termites he can find.  Carry on with your...ummm...business, Little Toad Frog.  Find that wifey!  We need lots of little toad froggies!  Lots of them!

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!

Toad..Frog..Toad..Frog..WHATEVER!!!

I was at one of my happiest points today..I was digging in the dirt!  Yep, it is that time of year again here on the Bayou.  The old cabin fever starts to set in and I get that itch to start planting my spring garden.  While Michael was up on the rooftop replacing more of those damaged boards, I was pondering just where my gardens would go this year.  With the building of the new shed, my garden space became severely limited.  That shed sits right smack dab on top of where my tomatoes were supposed to be planted so the search was on for a new spot.  Last spring, we were fostering Sunny, the pup and had to enclose a large area for her to use as a play yard.  She had a bad habit of bolting and not returning.  This area was a necessary evil just to keep her corralled and out of the way of oncoming cars.  Now the puppy play yard sat empty as Sunny has gone home with my daughter.  Aha!  A perfect garden area in the making was just found!  I decided to pull down the fence, remove the posts and enlarge the area by about three times the original size.  Things never looks so hard in my brain but once I tackle them...WOW!..they are a lot of work!  Still, if I wanted a garden this had to be done!   Once the fence was moved, I realized that a good bit of the dirt had to be removed as well.  This is the same area where Michael had spread the hay (also known as Johnson Weed!) and it had dropped about a billion seeds.  These seeds were all sprouting and making a regular hay field in the garden area.  Not good!  So, removing the seeds meant removing the top layer of dirt.

Yep, there is a frog under all of that sand!  An Eastern Narrowmouth Toad had burrowed under the garden soil!

That is when I found it!  As I was shoveling near the old gate, I uncovered a delightful little frog!  Poor baby!  I know that the little critter was hibernating and I disturbed its sleep but I could not resist getting a couple of pictures.  This was quite the unusual frog!  Or toad?  I could not really tell as the critter was covered with dirt and I was hesitant to clean it.  I figured that it would do no good to wash the poor little thing.  That might cause problems for the critter so my pictures show a sandy frog!  I was curious as I have not seen this little frog around here before and wanted to have a picture as reference when I researched it.  The frog was groggy so I was able to move it into better light for the picture but then I promptly returned it to its original bed.  The mulch that was dug away exposing the frog was placed back on top of it.  The little guy snuggled back down in its hole and was not disturbed again.  That part of the garden will remain undug for a while longer.

The little frog has tentatively been identified as a Gastrophryne Carolinensis or Eastern Narrowmouth Toad.  Hmmm...I thought it was a frog!  After reading a bit, I found that I was right..sort of..maybe?  The toad is not a true toad..more of a terrestrial frog!  Aha!  The toad/frog is sort of oval shaped with a narrow head.  The nose is rather pointed and I could barely see its eyes.  These frogs are usually brown (which mine was), grey or even dark green.  I pondered as to why I have never seen one before and soon found my answer..they are nocturnal!  The critters burrow underground or hide under logs during the day.  Then came the most exciting thing about the frog!  They feed almost exclusively on ants!  The frog's tough, leathery skin protects it from the vicious bites of the ants and allows it to feed right at the opening of an ant mound!  Their secondary choice of food..termites!  Wow!  I liked this little frog before but now I could almost say I love it!  Little Narrowmouth Toad (I insist "Frog"), you are so welcome to live in my garden forever!  I promise to be careful when digging and will try not to harm you!  You know..my sister once gave me a toad house...hmmm...I think tomorrow I shall place the toad house over his sleeping quarters just to be sure that I avoid digging there!