Here is one of the handsome green frogs that take up residence every summer in the small pond outside our front door. This fellow came out to enjoy the sun on one of warm days we had last week, basking on the little pagoda lantern right near the edge.
I believe our visitors are drawn by the sound of water splashing in the fountain. On summer evenings while we sit conversing on the porch, they will put in a word or two with a “ka-dunk” or “bar-umph,” often hilariously well-timed to our conversations, like they are agreeing or putting in their two cents.
Because this shallow pond freezes solid every winter and kills any amphibians that attempt to hibernate in it, every fall we must drain it, relocating all the residents to overwinter in a muddy lagoon in the river below the house. Last year we captured 14 frogs of various sizes, all of them showing up over the course of one summer. So in the next week or two, when I make time for such an undertaking, this guy will be headed to safer winter quarters. I wonder if he will wake up in the spring and start heading up the hill, remembering his idyllic summerhouse?
Eliza Waters 
Well isn’t he handsome! And are you wonderful caretakers of these beautiful creatures. 🙂
Great shot, too!
Thanks, Sharon. I am fond of our little green friends! 🙂
I love that frog, he is beautiful! 🙂 Like a Frog Prince!! 🙂 Frogs are so Fairy-tale-like! 🙂
He is quite handsome, I agree, a prince in disguise!
You’re like the Club Med of Massachusetts for your froggie friends! A private pool for summer fun, and an escort for the long winter nap.
A charming client you have there.
LOL! He is a frog prince!
That is so nice of you.
They are good neighbors!
That is definitely a green frog! And I am so impressed that you spend this time of year saving all those froggies’ lives.
I simply cannot let them perish after all those evening serenades! 🙂
My daughter has collected frogs of various ilks (is that a word?) for years. She even has a frog tattoo. Sigh. And I have to say my already high opinion of you has gone up inestimably knowing you take the time and effort to save the lives of the frogs who entertain you all summer long.
Well, thank you Barbara. In the end, I feel it is selfish, because that first year when the ice melted and revealed the sad results, the clean up was most unpleasant, not to mention the smell! I do wish to keep them alive and so cleaning the pond in the fall is the way we achieve it! Win-win! 😉
I love this guy’s chartreuse plant “glitter”! It’s like he’s dressing up for Halloween!
It’s his bling! 😉
He’s so beautiful:) I bet he comes back next year:)
I hope so! It is a nice place to spend the summer and there are no herons to worry about. 🙂
He is gorgeous!
I have to agree! 😉 (He’s a prince in disguise!)
Cute little fella for sure. Hope your day is going well.
Thanks, Mike, it is going as well as it can 🙂
Well, I hope it goes even better than it can.
I love how he finishes your convos on the porch-lol. Timing is everything:-)l. You are an amazing person, Eliza, to care for these green beauties! I have toads that dig below the soil but I would cherish a green beautiy like this one! No ponds close by!
You must make one! “If you build it, they will come!” Once I added the splashing fountain, it only took a year or so for them to find my pond. You have a ravine nearby, as I recall where you hear peepers? It is amazing how when you provide habitat, creatures find it. Mine is just a rigid plastic form I bought at the garden center many years ago and it isn’t that big, but the sound of water is such a delightful addition to a garden, soothing and meditative.
you inspire me! That would be soooo neat + if a small one would attract them( I can do small-lol) well, I just have to figure out, where to squeeze it in:-) I have two standing fountains that the birds love to get water from every day:-) A lower one would be good for the critters closer to the ground!
Check this out for inspiration: http://watergarden.com/tub/
I imagine you running with this idea!
Now that is creative!!! I will have to check that out:-) You can put fish in there ,too:-) thank you for sharing:-)
Just know that fish add a whole dimension of care due to their feces, and they eat baby frogs 😦 So I skip the fish and stick to plants, the frogs are happier about that!
oh, I had no idea:-( that would be sad!
Eliza, what delight to read about your fall frog moving expedition. Wishing you and the frogs much success!
Thanks, Sibylle. The deed was done this weekend with only 5 young frogs and a single tadpole to move. No sign of Prince Charming. Hopefully, he made his own way back to the river during our nor’easter last week.
Great photo. And a wonderful narrative as well. 🙂
Thanks, Michael, good to hear from you! 🙂
So many of your pics I absolutely adore! And your writing: it is if I am there! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind comment and reblog!
You are most welcome! 🙂
Reblogged this on Travels with Mary and commented:
Green green. Lovely pic