Giving Up Is Not An Option

   Early this morning, I headed to the little Frog Pond to see if our resident watersnake had returned.  Since I could not find her, my thoughts turned to other things...frogs!  The green treefrogs and American toads were singing their beautiful songs last night so the pond was full!  One, in particular, caught my eye as it was far up on one of the grasses.  That was big for a green treefrog!  I admired it for a bit before ambling back to the porch.  As I went passed the storeroom, another critter caught my eye.  A cicada was struggling to keep ahold of the siding as it morphed from its underground phase to its full adult stage.  The poor thing had half pushed its way out of its shed and was dangling precariously backwards!  Its grip on the siding had failed.  The poor thing was not able to right itself from this awkward angle causing it to not be able to finish its job of pulling from the old exoskeleton.  It was stuck.  While this situation was bad enough for the critter, I knew if it fell, things would be drastically worse.  A cicada has to hang vertically for its wings to form and dry. 

  Just as I was pondering whether I should go against Son's advice of never interfering with nature, the poor cicada dropped to the ground.  Oh, geez!  It had fallen right near an ant nest!  Poor little fellow!  Without thinking about that sage advice, I put my hand down next to the critter and allowed it to cling to me.  Now what??  It was time to find a safe place for our friendly critter.  Ahh, yes!  The small, potted quince tree would have to suffice as a temporary "hospital" for the bug.

  The little guy seemed well pleased with its new location and clung to the bark like a boss!  I kept watch on the progress and offered the occasional "moral support" that was needed to finish the process of molting.  It was an amazing experience to watch as the wings unfurled and then were inflated (yes, they inflate) then harden.  This took about an hour. During the hardening, I was a tad worried about its right wing but, in the end, the wing was normal. The adult cicada was gorgeous! Soon, it was able to take flight!  I look forward to hearing its call (or rather the calls of hundreds in the treetops).  I guess I will just have to take it that one of those calls is from the rescued critter.

Staying Safe From Bat!

   Bat, the rescue cat, is a very active cat.  A lot of that is due to his still being young and healthy.  He has not gotten into that "fat and lazy" stage that some older cats age into with ease.  He is far too active to be a strictly indoor cat.  I have to let him roam a bit so he does not bounce off the walls.  Being confined is not a good thing for any of us.  Of course, being a cat, he hunts.  Thankfully, his prey is usually limited to shrews, rats and mice but he occasionally does devour a frog or two if he catches them.  I love my frogs so the cat gets reprimanded with each catch.  That probably does not do a lot of good but, believe it or not, Bat does listen...sometimes....and he does know what the word "No!" means.

  This morning, I eased out the front door before the cat went out and noticed that Gilbert, the "light-dwelling" treefrog, was missing.  My heart did a flipflop because I really have become attached to this froggy!  My search of the light was in vain.  Gilbert was missing even though I could have sworn I heard him calling just last night.   I was beginning to be quite sad when a slight movement at the top of the tented arbor caught my eye.  Gilbert?  Nope.  A green anole swished his tail while he eyed my every move.  

  Just past the lizard, another movement brought joy.  Yep!  Gilbert was huddled on the very top board of the arbor and, to my surprise, he was not alone!  Gilbert was sharing the space with another treefrog!  Gilbert found a friend and they were in a safe place.  Bat, the cat, would not think of looking atop the arbor when there were so many other interesting things near the marsh edge.  The two froggies and the anole stayed hunkered down in the hiding spots until I brought the cat back into the house for the evening. 

  This evening, the serenade of the two treefrogs is being heard loud and clear.  They have a lot to sing about.  They have found each other and found a place to stay safe from predators.  Critters are indeed smart!

Just a Froggy in the Birdfeeder

  A friend recently came to the Little Bayou House and, as usual, we wound up meandering the garden paths.  She was fascinated (if not a bit squeamish) of all the critters that were found on our walk.  It seemed as if every step brought a new bug, lizard, frog, bird or snake.  With each, I would tell my friend a bit about the critter and, sometimes, relate a whimsical tale.  She was not sure if this life would be to her liking.  "How can you live here with so many creatures crawling about?", she asked.   Well, that was an easy question to answer.  "I befriend them!"  I went on to explain that I get along better with critters than people as critters never judge anyone.

  This morning, I befriended yet another critter.  I had put about two dozen purple basil plants in the garden yesterday so was aiming to give those a nice watering.  As I was spraying the basil plants, a slight movement near my head caught my attention.  Right at eyelevel, a green treefrog was perched in an empty birdfeeder.  Froggy was trying to catch a drink from the droplets.  Aww, the sweet froggy was ready to turn in for the day but needed one last sip before bedtime.  I eased the mist from the hose slightly toward the frog.  The little critter seemed mightily grateful for the kindness.   

  Friend Froggy (have not named this one yet) patiently sat with me as I finished the watering and took a photograph.  It then climbed up the side of the birdfeeder and across to the hollow driftwood holding the garden sign.  There, it snuggled in safely from the perils of the daytime hours.  I am sure, come nightfall, my new friend will be chiming in on the froggy serenade that lulls me to sleep each night.  Yep, I CAN live with the critters.  

Danger Lurks In The Shadows

   Puddle Pond sits at the end of Pebble Creek with both being nothing more than a drainage ditch with a circulating pump in the little pond.  The water in the pond is only about 18 inches deep so it is easy to keep clean.  Since mid summer, things have gotten a bit out of hand here with the water hyacinths growing to massive heights and thickness.  This is good in some ways but not so very good in others.  Good as it gives lots of places for the little froggies to hide from birds, coons and feral cats.  Not so good as it hides a different predator.

  This morning as I was wandering the Small Gardens, I happened upon a small ribbon snake as it was dining upon the little froglets.  The snake was taking full advantage of the coverage of the water hyacinth leaves as it picked off one after another of the tiny green treefrogs.  The pond is full of the frogs so it is only natural that the snake would be there.  As much as I like my froggies, this was not something that needed interference.  The snake was only trying to survive.  The froggies were doing the same.  They were trying to survive by climbing up high on the leaves in hopes that they could see the snake before it struck. This technique was working fine about giving them the advantage over the snake but, also, put them in jeopardy.  Any other predator now had a full view of the frogs.  I guess this was a matter of "you do what you gotta do".  

  In a way, it saddens me to see so many frogs perish but that is part of life.  If the little snake wanted to live, it had to eat.  Besides, there are thousands upon thousands of frogs in the two ponds and each night hears the froggy symphony of mating calls.  More eggs will be laid, more tadpoles will hatch and more frogs will climb out of the pond.  One little snake among thousands of frogs.  Seems fair.  Life goes on.

Saltwater Frogs? Something is Amiss...

   As a rule, frogs are prone to stay in freshwater.  They prefer to use freshwater ponds and pools when laying their eggs.  As far as I know, there are no frogs locally that prefer saltwater as a home for their tadpoles.  Supposedly, there is one frog in China that can tolerate either salt or fresh but not here.  Until now....

  What is up with the numerous frogs that have taken up residence in the marshes of the  Bayou?  I understand that occasionally a frog may be found there but now hundreds of frogs of all sorts are literally calling the saltmarshes home.  Granted, most of the waters are brackish and not overly salty but still it is unusual.  Over the past few years, I have found leopard frogs, bullfrogs, pickerel frogs and green treefrogs living in the marsh.  This is where they are laying eggs and staying to maturity.  They make no effort to migrate up the hillside to the two small ponds or the creek on the property.  This morning, a small treefrog caught my attention as it was perched on a boat pole.  As I watched it, I realized that there were many more on the marsh mats and pier posts.  There were frogs everywhere!

  The move to the marsh seems strange to me as salt usually dehydrates a frog's skin rather quickly.  Are the frogs adapting to the brackish water out of necessity?  Makes you wonder if the freshwater is not so "fresh" after all.  Perhaps all of the chemicals folks are dumping on their lawns is contaminating the creeks and ponds.  The brackish waters of the bayou are somewhat circulated out with the tidal movements so maybe it is a bit cleaner than we think.  Something is up with those frogs and it does make you think things are just not right.  Just a ponderance there...