Frog Frenzy

It is often said that ‘timing is everything’.  Well, this year, my timing was impeccable in witnessing the frog frenzy down at our pond.

 

Let me premise…I know next to nothing about frogs.  I dissected a frog once in high school biology, but even the knowledge I gained about their internal organs has left my active memory bank. I know a frog when I see one up close and personal; otherwise, I might think was looking at a toad. Frogs have webbed feet…right?

 

Normally, when the frogs are in full croaking mode, I can walk down to the pond and not see a one.  As I wander along the edge of the water, I can hear little splashes as these frogs jump, undetected by my eyes, into the pond as I pass near them.  All I seem to catch is a glimpse of the small round rings of waves resulting from the disturbed surface of the pond as the frogs jump in.

 

One day this past week, I took my usual walk down to the pond.  I could hear the frogs up at the house and their racket only amplified the closer to the pond I got.

 

I went out onto the deck of the pond house to survey the bank from as near the water-side as possible in hopes of not scaring the frogs into taking their diving escapes. I saw a clump of mud surrounded by grass that, imagining, could be a frog.  Even though I was only feet away, I decided to peer through my camera’s telephoto lens for a better look.  Sammy saw my interest and decided to walk into my field of view.  Plunk.  Yep, that blob was a frog.  And, now it was gone.

 

This is where I saw the clump of mud...I mean frog.

Again, like with so many other species of nature that I encounter on the farm, I could hear, hundreds of frogs in this case; but I could not see any.

 

I sat on the bench and waited and watched.  The dogs decided to do their frog hunting at the far side of the pond leaving me at peace.  Well, not so much at peace, as those frogs are noisy, but alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I saw one just floating near the shoreline.  And, I saw another two.

 

 

 

I continued to search and discovered several little bumps in the surface of the water just inches out from the muddy bank.  These bumps were frog heads peeping above the surface, their beady eyes vigilant for intruders to their domain.  I could see their throats expand into large balloons at the same time as the din increased.

 

The longer I watched the more frogs I saw. Many of the frogs were swimming, many of them puffing their throats and many of them piggyback.  Maybe it was mating season.  Like I mentioned, my frog fact list is pretty lean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was my first real encounter with the frogs…just amazing!  I was thrilled.

 

The next day, the frog verbalizing had disappeared.  My arrival at the pond was truly tranquil.  There were no frogs…sight or sound.

 

Timing is everything.