“Depth must be hidden. Where? On the surface.” ~Hugo von Hofmannsthal
frog
Blending in
This green frog blends in well with the color of the surrounding duckweed, and can easily go unnoticed. What commonly gives its presence away is its high, reverberating chirp or an occasional hop.
“So you’re a little weird? Work it! A little different? OWN it! Better to be a nerd than one of the herd!” ~Mandy Hale
Among the fallen leaves
Standing among the duckweed
This spot at the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refugee is one of my favorite places to stand and listen to silence, intertwined with the occasional sweet sounds of nature.
“In mid-wood silence, thus, how sweet to be,
Where all the noises, that on peace intrude
Come from the chittering cricket, bird, and bee,
Whose songs have charms to sweeten solitude.”
~John Clare
Frogs on a log
While visiting the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, I was able to spot a couple of frogs — a Green Frog and a Gray Treefrog. They were both sitting on logs, soaking up some sun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well,
if I were a belly-floppin’ frog
I’d sit in the sun on a little old log,
and I’d doze
doze
doze…
with my eyes closed
closed
closed…
if I were a belly-floppin’ frog
Ribbit!
~Unknown
Sing
This tiny frog was sitting on a blade of grass in our backyard. I believe it is an Upland Chorus Frog. Tennessee’s Watchable Wildlife describes it’s call as “short, raspy and rises in pitch; sounds like someone dragging their thumbnail over the teeth of a comb.” Not a terribly flattering description of this little frog’s singing voice, but I sure do enjoy sitting on the screen porch at night and listening to its chorus.
“Every life composes a song of its own.” ~Jeff Veach
Down at the creek
“Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.”
~William Wordsworth
Sneaking up on a frog
Usually I hear a loud “yelp” and a “plop”, followed by the sight of water rings left by the blur of a leaping frog. I seldom actually get a good glimpse of the frog sitting along a ditch or have time to take photos before the inevitable aforesaid scene. But lately, it seems like my stealth-like powers may be improving. 🙂
“So the trick it seems, if you want to sneak up on frogs, is to walk softly and act as little like a giant as possible.” ~Tom Pelletier
Trilling frogs
This little frog was camouflaged so well that I would have never seen him, had it not been for his loud melodic chirping. At one point, when the lake got very still and quiet, he was joined by a great chorus of frogs all singing at different frequencies and volumes, scattered throughout the greenery. It was a beautiful sound to the ears.
Later, as I was looking at the photos, I discovered that I had been so focused on the one vocal frog, that I had not noticed that there had been another quieter one hidden nearby (see the last two photos). 🙂
“If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.” ~Adrian Forsyth
Big old bullfrog
... When the marshy meadows glimmer With a misty, purple shimmer, And the twilight flush is changing into shade; When the firefly lamps are burning And the dusk to dark is turning,-- Then the bullfrogs chant their evening serenade ... ~Joseph Crosby Lincoln
walking on a country road 