Wilderness Wednesday: Love Thy Neighbour

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frogs, humour, nature, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

Love thy neighbor – and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier. – Mae West

Happy 4th of July to our American neighbours! And Happy Wednesday to all!

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Wilderness Wednesday: Baby Frog

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frogs, nature, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

My parents were a little slow getting their pool ready for the summer…and consequently became the guardians of a large family of poly-wogs. They left them to grow up for as long as possible before carefully moving them to a nearby stream. But it would seem a few had grown up and left the nest before the “big move”. Now they are guardians to a new generation of tree frogs, who will serenade them (and get “lucky”) next Spring!

Dad brought this baby into the house to show Mom (who was not impressed), so we had to take a quick shot while keeping it from disappearing. It’s so tiny!

Delight in the Little Things – Kipling

Happy Wednesday!

Z is for Zuma

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#atozchallenge, frogs, nature, photography

My parents live in the country and are serenaded each spring and summer by tree frogs.

One evening two years ago, we noticed a little green frog enjoying the big cushy chair. We named him Zuma.

After posing for photos, Zuma worked his way to the floor of the deck and tried to squeeze himself down a crack between the boards, head first. He succeeded in making a fool of himself, legs flailing hopelessly in the air. My Dad sat closer to try to take his picture while in this ridiculous pose. Humiliated, Zuma crawled under Dad’s boot to hide…

…where he stayed for close to an hour. I took pity on my Dad (the gentle giant) and made a temporary frog shelter (NB: these cups also make great mousetraps).

By sunset, Zuma had left his house to regale his friends of his near-death encounter with the “giants”.

Last year, Little Guy enjoyed playing with Zuma II in the pool!

(We encountered Hogarth last October, and he was not impressed with me).

I’m looking forward to Summer more than you are looking forward to the end of this post, and for those who participated, the end of the a-to-z challenge. It has been a LOT of fun!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit, and especially to those who took time to comment. I appreciated the feedback an encouragement! 🙂

 

Wilderness Wednesdays: Zuma, The Tree Frog

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frogs, nature, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

It was cold and wet for the 5 days I was visiting my parents. I had packed one “warm outfit” and I got sick of wearing it…every day…along with my Mom’s hoodie! But the sun broke through one evening around meal time and the temperature rose long enough for us to eat outside. That’s when we met Zuma.

Zuma and his friends serenaded nightly by the edge of my parents’ pool…and sometimes in the afternoon too (the naughty creatures). Zuma was snoozing in the reclining lawn chair – I wonder if he imbibed too much chlorine the night before, trying to impress his lady friends, and woke up in this strange place.

Most of the tree frogs I’ve seen are brown, but Zuma was a lovely bright green.

After awhile, Zuma worked his way to the floorboards and tried to squeeze himself down a crack between the boards, head first. He succeeded in making a fool of himself, legs flailing hopelessly in the air. My Dad sat closer to try to take his picture while in this ridiculous pose. Humiliated, Zuma crawled under Dad’s boot to hide. Now you can see how tiny he really is…

My Dad, the gentle giant, sat there patiently for a very long time, waiting for Zuma to move on. But he didn’t. So I rescued both of them…with a Tim Horton’s teahouse.

Zuma found his way back to his brat pack, regaled them with his harrowing experience, and sang away the night:

“Hello, my baby – Hello, my honey
Hello my ragtime gal
Send me a kiss by wire
Baby, my heart’s on fire”