where the wild things are

I am fast developing a new favorite cute thing – a floating frog where you can see his webbed feet under the water. The only thing that could make this better is if you could see little fingers hanging onto the lily pad to hold him in place. He didn’t need to do that, however. The way he facing, the flow in the pond would keep him in that position. It’s when they are facing with their back to the skimmer that they have to hold on.

Plant pots are a handy perch.

Cave frog particularly likes jumping into the plant pots and using them as a hunting platform. At least, I assume that is what he is doing. Mostly I just see the frogs sitting or jumping away to swim out of sight. It’s always nice when things are so still that the photo of the reflection of the frog is nearly as crisp as the actual frog.

My neighbors are so nosy.

No doubt Uptown Frog is very tired of me peeking into his otherwise nicely private area behind a plant and upstream from the pond. He usually dashes under the water immediately. He probably wonders why I haven’t taken the hint that he doesn’t want to be my friend.

Hanging out. It’s what I do.

Most likely this is Eyeballs. This is also a forewarning that after over a month of daily frog postings, I’m not certain how much long this can go on. Many of the times I have spotted frogs and headed out for a photo I got perhaps one, and often none – which is frustrating as it’s not like I’ve ever done anything to them (beyond scooping them out of the skimmer as tadpoles – but I was saving them! I think, anyway.) In any case – just wanted to give warning. I’ll keep this up as I can, but at some point (even if I’m super lucky) they will go under mud for the winter – and I don’t think any of us want a picture of mud daily for a few months…

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.