Southern Serenade

   It seems as if there is a big uproar about the emergence of millions of cicadas due this month around the nation.  So?  Is that a bad thing?  I hear everything from "They kill the trees." to "They invade my house." or even "They are too loud."  So?  First off, cicadas do not kill trees.  Granted the adult females do lay their eggs in trees but the larvae eventually fall to the ground and burrow under.  What they do to trees is sort of a natural pruning which is actually good for trees.  Secondly, the critters do not "invade" houses.  They may crawl up the side as a means to let their wings dry and then to allow them to take flight but they really do not want to be inside.  That would serve no purpose to them.  If any do get inside, they probably flew in when someone left a door open or, occasionally, one may hitch a ride on someone because they simply landed and did not get off in time.  Being inside is counterproductive to them as they are only seeking mates. So unless you have caged cicadas inside, no other one wishes to be there.  Good thing about cicadas, they do not bite nor sting!  In fact, the critters do not have a mouth to bite with, in the first place so before that gets started, we will put a nix on it.  In the unhappy (for them) event that one does find itself stranded inside your house, do it a favor and simply pick up the critter and gently put it back outside.  In return, I am sure it will be happy to sing a song just for you.

  As for being loud, yep!  They can be deafening!  Their calls are often compared to about a billion electric saws being used at the same time!  This amuses me as I would much rather hear the cicadas sing than saws running in the middle of the night.  True, the singing is loud at times but be thankful...you can hear!

  Speaking of cicadas and their loud calls, if you live in the south, that is pretty much a yearly occurrence and not this thirteen or seventeen year thing.  It happens EVERY SUMMER here and their calls are not looked upon as something bad.  We accept it.  We take pride in our lovely creatures.  We appreciate them.  Of course, our annual emergence does not compare to the prediction of billions but, hey, they are only temporary so give them a break.  They will be around for a few weeks then, poof!, they are gone!  They will be back underground and go unnoticed until the next go round.  Like I said, folks, instead of fretting and trying to kill the critters, be thankful you are around to witness such an event.

Visiting the Frogs!

  While being quarantined due to the virus, I have been taking full advantage of my time being alone.  The yard is being completely redone..gardens, arbors, Frog Pond...everything.  It appears that I have been quite slack on the upkeep of things around here so now is the perfect time to get it ship-shape!  Yesterday, I cleaned the Frog Pond and did some trimming of bushes near it.  As I was pulling out a lot of the water hyacinths, tiny froglets were trying to scoot out of my way.  I knew there were a ton of tadpoles but did not realize that they were already at the stage of morphing into frogs!  Hundreds of different froggies were hiding under the hyacinths and waterlilies!

 Since we literally did not have a winter, the frogs stayed active all year.  There were eggs in the pond in February!  The tadpoles stayed a long while before becoming metamorphlings but once they started changing, it happened quickly for all of them.  While clearing the pond of the overgrowth of hyacinths, I had to be extremely careful not to toss out the tadpoles.  Some had their little arms but no back legs while others had all four legs but still had the tadpole tails.  

  This evening with the cloudy overcast, the   froggy serenade is going strong.  Toads, green tree frogs, leopard frogs, chorus frogs, pickerel frogs and an occasional bullfrog can be heard adding their voices to the cacophony.  This means one thing...the freshly cleaned pond will be filled with eggs in a few days.  More tadpoles are on the way! 

Calling Loud And Clear!

  Back behind the house, the Frog Pond has been cleaned and is ready for more froggies.   The first round of tadpoles have already vacated the water and are well on their way to being adult frogs.  The rainstorm yesterday made all of the tree frogs think mating season has started anew.  Their nightly serenade was intense last night causing me to slip out the back door to photograph a few of our locals.  I had recently pruned the wisteria vine to practically a nub so it was relatively easy to find the frogs.  The green tree frogs have a keen knack for hiding in the leaves but with little foliage left on the vines, their camouflage was all for naught.

  One of the frogs was so intent on singing his song that he never noticed me.  He kept right on with his loud chirps regardless of the flash of the camera.  Mr. Frog was bound and determined to attract a female.  It tickled me to see this normally slender, graceful frog swell up to twice his normal size so he could let his song burst forth with gusto!  It did not take long until seemingly hundreds of other frogs were chirping in unison.  The noise was almost deafening.

  The Frog Pond is alive and well with several different types of frogs vying for the perfect spot to lay their eggs and assure another successful generation.  *Just a bit of trivia...Green Tree Frogs are also called Rain Frogs because of their penchant for singing during wet weather.  Their songs seem to be louder and stronger when rains are near.*

Almost Too Late!

  Well, I was almost too late!  Cleaning the Frog Pond is always something I try to do in the early spring.  Most of the time, the chore is done while it is still quite chilly even though I get rather wet.  Mucking around in knee deep water is a must if the water hyacinths are to be thinned.  Those things will clog up a pond rather quickly so each year, I pull out all but about a dozen or so.  That means two hundred make their way to the compost bin.  Hyacinths make excellent fertilizer so they do not go to waste.  That cleaning, however, is quite the undertaking and this spring, it has been delayed several times.  Last night, hundreds of toads and frogs could be heard raising their voices in their nightly serenade and love was being shared in the back yard.  The cacophony gave me a bit of a sinking feeling.  I was too late.

  This morning as soon as other chores were completed, it was time to get down and dirty with the pond.  The task was made even more difficult due to the fact that several clusters of toad eggs were already to be found woven in the roots of the water lilies.  This made it difficult to get the water hyacinths free and clear.  Several times, a decision had to be made.  Either a few eggs had to be sacrificed or masses of water plants had to stay. I did the best I could to save each strand.

  There was clearly no draining the entire pond as this would have damaged the eggs already there.  Half of the water was drained while the pond was refilling.  Hopefully, this did not disturb the eggs and the future toads and frogs will be happy with their somewhat cleaner abode.  I, on the other hand, appreciated the warm, sunny day as I was just about soaked to the skin with yucky pond water!  Oh, the things I do for the critters around this place!

Just As Happy As A Songbird

  In spite of the heavy fog shrouding the Bayou, my morning started with garden work.  It seems that the gnats are late sleepers so weeding was a lot nicer without their presence.  I was not alone in the garden, however, as I had one sweet friend keeping me company.  A male mockingbird sat on the tiptop of the black gum tree that grows by the garden fence.  The bird was not only keeping me company but entertaining me, as well.  A never-ending melody wafted down from the treetop!  Once the fog cleared, I could see my fine feathered friend raising his song to the world.

  The bird singing got me to thinking of how most folks think that mockingbirds sing merely because they are happy.  Well, think again, folks.  Male mockingbirds also sing as a way of claiming territory.  More oft than not, if you hear a mockingbird singing loudly and nonstop during the daytime hours, it is a male. They are warning any interlopers well ahead of time that if they cross into the area, a battle will ensue. Somewhere nearby, the mockingbird's ladylove is nesting and he is not about to let some young whippersnapper intrude on family business.   Then, there are those mockingbirds that sing nonstop at night.  Those, usually, are "bachelors".  Young males sing to attract females.  So, the ones that cause you to lose sleep are generally restless males out on the town trying to find a girlfriend.

  My friend, Papa Mockingbird, sang his heart out all day long.  Then just at dusk, the garden was quiet again.  Far off in the distance, down towards the pier, I could hear a youngster starting his serenading.  The singing is nonstop between the two of them with others singing down near the creek (both day and night).  Add their singing to the cacophony from the Frog Pond and the Bayou is one loud place....both day and night.  How nice it is to leave the windows open to be serenaded constantly.  Yep, love is in the air.