gone but not forgotten

Yes indeed we do miss Brave Frog. He was the first we spotted and was the one most often out – plus he had such distinctive markings. I hope he is happy wherever he moved. This photo combines several of my favorite things – Brave Frog flattened out on a rock, frog with head just above water, and frog face-on. What a handsome devil!

okay, fine. I can be brave too.

One of the trio who hasn’t moved out – Cave Frog I think – humored me by hopping out onto a rock in the sun and posing for a few photos before diving back under water. Thanks!

lurking in the lilies

I was just about to give up on spotting a frog when I noticed the tell-tale “wet rock” in the lilies. I like that I was able to get a lily in the photo with him (though there was no way to get both in focus). If you look closely, you can see his little finger holding onto a lily pad to hold himself in place.

hunting for a midnight snack

My husband spotted this guy on a lilypad in the dark (impressive!) – so I got the camera out and tried to get the shot. I was concerned the flash would make him leave (plus, I wanted the night shot) so I turned on a light elsewhere for minor ambient light and then used tripod and long shutter time. It worked out great, I think – and I didn’t disturb the hunting. I have to admit, I have no clue which one this is.

keeping my head above water…

I don’t know why, but the pictures of the frogs with their head just poking up above the water are some of my favorites – especially when I can see the rest of him so well beneath the water. And the algae on the rocks helps with his camouflage so I feel less guilty about not being able to keep things more tidy for them. Algae is a never-ending challenge.

Tolerating your fellow frogs is important to pond tranquility.

This is Brave Frog and Cave frog hanging out pretty darn close. Most of the time when I spot the frogs they are all alone – no way to get anyone else in the photo. I was delighted to get a few shots like this one with two frogs in view and even better in this case they are both in focus (not easy and the depth of focus on this lens is shallow to say the least). Even here you see Brave Frog being brave and hanging out in the open, something he did much more than the others ever have.

I love my lily pad.

One morning there had been a lot of drama in the pond and the lily pads were all messed up. We have no idea whether it was a bird (herons around here) or a raccoon or something else, but something was definitely in the pond. Even better, we know they were unsatisfied because all fish and frogs were accounted for afterwards. Brave Frog took advantage of an overturned lily pad which of course made him stand out even more. I love the bubbles under his nose!

Improvised umbrella.

Probably Cave Frog (just based on him not skedaddling immediately – but again, the remaining three look pretty much like triplets) enjoying a bit of camouflage and shade from one of our bog plants. In fact, I’m dying for that plant to bloom already! It will have red trumpet-flowers that should attract hummingbirds, which would be fantastic.

Brave Frog again, not caring about the camera.

Take a look at yesterday’s Daily Frog. Go on. I’ll wait.

See? Same pose. I moved around him, reset tripod, aimed camera, focused… and he just didn’t care. I’m pretty sure this is when he got his name. I still miss having him around.