This morning while out feeding and watering the geese I leaned into the shrub that grows there to get to the hose bib.
I found a visitor.
Can you see him?
I had heard him calling in the night, but never knew what he looked like.
Today he honored me with a close-up.
Though I think he was a bit shy.
He sounds like this…
Now multiply this by at least a hundred! 😀
~*~
PS: I have much to tell, and have worked out the promised ‘tentative’ schedule:
Wednesdays and Fridays are for posting.
Saturday is for visiting and replies to comments.
Any other days will be counted as icing!
Life on the Farmlet 
Oh my! Did you take that close-up?! Looks like a pro-shot, that!
Yes, I did, Simone! You make me blush…
I’ve yet to take a non-blurry picture of a living thing that doesn’t understand the words “don’t you dare move!!!”
LOL! Simone, usually it isn’t the object I am trying to capture that is doing all the moving; it is me. Nowadays, if I want a good clean shot I need to use a tripod because my hands shake just a bit. Yesterday it took 58 shots to get that one that was so clear. (No tripod = I got lucky!) 😉
I don’t even have a tripod!
What?! That froglet stayed still for 58 shots? Did you freeze-dry it onto that branch???
Simone, he only moved once, and after that I got a clear shot. Go figure. However, His eyes are amazing and even without a full body view I am very happy with the result.
I love him and I’ve always loved his song.
Lillian
Yes, Lillian, they are so lovely and relaxing to listen to in the evenings. Yet, when it is time to go to sleep I am very grateful for a well insulated house! 😉
There’s very little in the world that makes me happier than listening to frogs in the night. He is a handsome fellow, and quite different than the little tree frog I managed to capture in a photo. His feet look more like a gecko’s. Clearly, they’re good for hanging on.
I was out at a farmlet tonight, myself. I’ve discovered a place only 20 minutes away that might as well be in the middle of nowhere, and their hobby garden got away from them. Now, they have acres of tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, zuchinni, cucumber — not to mention the fig and peach orchards, and blackberry vines galore. I spent tonight mostly picking blackberries. They have several varieties, but I prefer the Kiowa. They’re quite sweet, and as big as my thumb. They also have thorns, but that’s ok with me, especially since they are as popular for picking as the thornless varieties.
You can’t believe how many berries they have. There are at least fourteen long “rows” — maybe 50′ long? — with all of the berries trellised. I’m out of room in my freezer, but I might go back tomorrow and pick more tomatoes. They have the standards – Big Boy, Celebrity, and so on – but they also have a heritage variety that’s great for tomato sauce. It has very few seeds, and is just a little sweeter. I guess I’ll find out.
I’m anxious to hear what’s been going on around your place.
Yes, their sounds are such music on a warm evening. Yet, as I said to Lillian, I appreciate a well insulated/soundproofed home when bedtime rolls around! I truly found this fellow amazing; it is his eyes!
How fun, Linda! It has been a good year for my blackberries too (Arapaho). And although my row is only 10 feet long I have managed to collect about 2 gallons so far. I have frozen most of them for later use. It is worth the heat and the mosquitoes to get them picked. I am grateful, that in spite of neglect some of my garden still provides me with good things to eat!
More will follow, but I didn’t want to come back after this long silence with whining. 😉
Cute little visitor. I know the sound you’re referring to! We stopped one night at a rural rest stop, it was deafening!
Yes, exactly, Patti. Unless you have experienced it you simply have no idea how loud those little fellows are in chorus!
Awesome! I think he was asleep…he didn’t sound shy.
Angela, I suspect you are correct. I haven’t read it yet, but I believe this one is nocturnal. I was truly surprised to find him down so low in the bushes!
That was a great video. Feeling better….more active. I hope
Glad you enjoyed it, Angela! And yes, I am feeling much better, thought perhaps not as active as I would like to be! All in good time…
The one little fellow that was waiting for nightfall before hitting the water would periodically bellow out a chorus or two while “hiding” on the trim over the top of the kitchen window (on the shady east side of the house, of course; )
Oh, and did I mention that Dustin, the yellow Lab, would look for him/them in the pool, every time he went outside, night or day?
Our dogs do that too. When they are successful in catching one, then they come in and barf on the rug…YECH! Thankfully, the dogs are not crafty enough to do this often. 😛
Ha! (LMAO) I know what you mean! They obviously taste horrible but, for some reason, Dustin still hasn’t learned that Toads will make him wretch (what a doofus!) Perhaps he can’t tell the difference from Frogs? (Which are apparently delicious; )
It was a very long time ago (1973?), but I can affirm that frog’s legs are delicious. 😉
Funny, that’s roughly about the same time-frame as my (one and only) experience with frog’s legs. (Trouble is, you have to catch those big Bullfrogs and they are such WILEY creatures; )
True, but I let the restaurant handle the details, and it was a one-off experience! I can’t say as I’m really into reptiles as sustenance.
Reptiles? UGH!! Amphibians very rarely; ) Those Frog’s legs? Well they were sampled decades ago on a fishing trip my Dad and I took ‘way up the back of beyond (and an adjunct to our sparse catch that day):
happy little croaker
I believe he was, Bob!
Those beauties are a novelty here in Oklahoma. I have often seen them while visiting folks in Louisiana though. What a gift to spot this little gem in your yard!
I view all such encounters as a gift, Lori! I wonder, if you don’t have frogs and toads there, then do you have Horned Toads? I used to find them in SoCal all the time when I was very young, and then all the development caused them to become rare or possibly extinct.
This is one of my favorite sounds! and I’m typing while listening. Thank you 🙂
and I like the schedule!!! I’m always glad to see your blog pop up!
Thank you, Laurie, you make me feel heaps better!
Hi Lynda, NICE SHOT!!
LOL! Didn’t need to listen to your link to know how LOUD these little guys are. Y’see, a couple of weeks ago, there were TWO males in our Vernal Pond (unopened pool): trying to outdo each other and it was DEAFENING!!
When I was a kid, I swear that the sound of the Spring Peepers in the Farm’s pond could literally lift you right off of the bed; )
Glad to see you’ve got your schedule all figured out (I can hardly wait: ) hugs!
Thank you, Deb, I’m glad you enjoyed him. And, thank you for the mention of the vernal pond. I had never heard the term and now find (after looking it up) that it exactly explains the water sink in the neighbors property across the way! It fills up in winter and then slowly dries out through the summer. This is where the bulk of the frog/toad noise comes from all spring through summer.
When I was a kid, I remember my Dad calling the Mallards “puddle ducks”. Years later, on a field trip to the local Board of Ed’s Nature Centre, we learned about Vernal Ponds and their integral place in our ecosystem… Now, when I see all of the “wet spots” being drained from farmers’ fields and the Hedgerow plants pulled out by the roots, it makes me feel quite ill to know that their ignorance is hacking a(nother): hole in Nature’s cycle… Is it any wonder that birds, bees and butterflies are in decline?
Sad, but true these days.
What a lovely little fellow Lynda. So lovely this video even if it is not for young children at the end lol.. Before I came here there was a pond with hundred of frogs and I loved them
Have a nice week end
I did, Chantal, and I hope you did too! Thanks!