A Froggy Day in November

The trail I've been working on has proved to be quite froggy. Scranton spied this leopard frog in the leaves earlier this week when he walked the proposed route with me. Luckily for me, November leopards are not nearly as nimble as summer ones so I was able to get a picture.

A couple of years ago, in this same area, I found a frog that I was never able to identify. Hopefully I'll find some more of the same kind and finally ID it. Can't have some mystery frog wondering around out there now can we?

 

Tidbits From My Day

My camera and I are not getting along. For some reason it is refusing to focus as well as I would like. Perhaps it is feeling neglected of late or is experiencing a mid-life crisis. Whatever is going on with it, the bottom line is that it just isn't giving me the results I am after. That being said, here are a few images of some of the critters that shared my space today...

Lead phase red-backed salamander

young pine woods treefrog

swallowtail chrysalis - not sure which swallowtail...probably tiger

and lastly, a camel cricket -- again, I have no idea which species, heck I don't even know which genus. We'll just call it a "hoppy bug" and leave it at that.

I hope your Wednesday was wonderful. Mine was pretty darn pleasant.

What, Another One?!

Yes, I know. I really do need to find a Green Treefrogs Anonymous group to help me deal with my addiction.
Hope everyone is feeling fine as frog hair today -- and if you're not, do like this little frog, hunker down and hang on.

Give Us A Kiss

Rana sphenocephala utricularia
Southern Leopard Frog

Three Good Things

It has a been a very frustrating summer for me. Way too much time spent in the office and way too little time spent outdoors. Today I managed to get out for a few hours. It was wonderful -- I feel almost human again ;) There was much to see, but I will just share my favorite three for the day...

Squirrel Treefrog

Transforming tadpole of unknown species -- king of all he surveys

A young mother out for a stroll with the kids.

Life is good.

Happiness...

...is having a Pine Woods Treefrog on your shoulder,

 

or perched atop your head!

 

Our seasonal employee is curious about all the critters in the park. He frequently brings his finds to me for an ID. Yesterday, he found a treefrog hanging out on one of the decks at work. He caught it and brought it to me. When he opened his hands so I could take a look, the frog jumped onto his shoulder. From there it migrated to the top of his head. It gave us all a good chuckle.

Cope's Gray Treefrog

My Frog Fix

 

Treebeard and I walked the edge of the pond so that I could get a much needed green treefrog fix. Twenty-two frogs withing twenty feet. Not too bad a count.

Head Above Water - Barely

It certainly has been nice to have rain this spring.

Froggy Thoughts

A pensive green treefrog sitting atop one of my B27s.
Wonder what he's pondering...

Tidbits from Sunday

Sunday was a beautiful day. We headed out onto the pond (of course!) and then up into the swamp. We were paddling with a friend from Vermont who has been down camping for the past few weeks. He really likes it here - well, except for the ticks ;) He didn't even complain (too much) when Treebeard insisted he look in a couple of hollow trees in order to see the bats within.

Below are a few snippets from our day. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I usually do. It was just so beautiful out I wanted to concentrate on being out and not so much on trying to capture images.

Things have greened up quite a bit since our last paddle into the swamp a few weeks ago. The spatterdock (Nuphar lutea) has emerged, much to the delight of the beaver and nutria who have been nibbling off the leaves. Guess everyone enjoys a fresh salad now and again.

Although we usually see them mostly along the shoreline, the gambusia (aka mosquito fish) seemed quite happy swimming amidst the vegetation out in the middle of the pond. Good for them! Gobble up those wiggle-tails (mosquito larvae) little fishies, gobble 'em up!

A nice fresh tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) enjoying a not-so-nice and fresh scat. Aren't you glad we get our salts and other essentials from more appetizing sources?

The larger tree mid-frame is a bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum). It's one of those odd deciduous needle and cone-bearing trees -- hence the name, "bald". This one is extra special. Up there where it crooks off to the left there is a cavity and that cavity houses a beehive. We have found several bee trees up in the swamp this spring. I hope that's a good sign that there are at least a few healthy wild bees out there and that not all hives are suffering from colony collapse.

Otters don't have discriminating tastes, it seems. The head and skin above belong to a blackfish, Amia calva (aka bowfin, grinnel, mudfish, dogfish, spottail). This was a small one - they can get up to nearly 43 inches and 20 pounds - but I'm sure it filled the tummy of the otter that caught it. Click on it to enlarge it and take a look at its teeth.
Blackfish are capable of breathing air and they are tolerant of high temperatures, both valuable traits for a fish living in a shallow southern coastal plain pond. They offer fishermen a nice fight but are not particularly tasty.

A few of the least trillium (Trillium pusillum var. virginianum) are still blooming. We were surprised by that. They are usually through by the last week in March. This flower has some age on it as evidenced by its pink petals.

Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus, such an impressive name for a lizard. Me, I prefer the common name, Fence Lizard. This one is just a youngster. Hopefully it will grow up to be a fine fat adult. As lizard's go, these are quite personable and even moderately tolerant of being observed. They aren't nearly as jumpy as skinks.

Smacked tight to the trunk of a bald-cypress, this green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) was hiding in plain sight... just a whisper of Spanish moss breaking up its profile.
I can't help myself, I absolutely love these little amphibians and never pass up an opportunity to photograph them.

It was a fine day spent in excellent company in my favorite place.
I am a very fortunate person.

Positively Froggy

Coastal Plain cricket frogs, Acris gryllus gryllus
0.5 to 1.5 inches (16 to 32 mm)

The yard and surrounds were littered with cricket frogs yesterday when Treebeard and I went for a short walk. One had to watch one's step lest one squish a frog.
Isn't that wonderful?

Another One!

Different porch, same species of frog. I found a lone spring peeper on the back porch at work today. Initially, I mistook it for a curled, dried leaf ;p
Pseudacris crucifer crucifer

*************
On a completely different note, Treebeard has taught our cat Friday how to play catch.
It is hilarious to watch -- she is crazy for her "crack" mouse and nuts over her little superball. He will throw one of them and off she'll go to get it, bring it back and drop it so he can throw it again.
That's my kitty!

First Frog!!

Oh yeah!
They've been calling regularly for a while now but I hadn't seen one until tonight. While I was sitting and reading I kept catching a fleeting glimpse of something, just a suggestion of movement, at the window. Each time I turned my head to look, nothing. Then, quite by accident, I saw it.
A spring peeper on the porch!
Woohoo :) I'm happy.