IMAGES
WORDS
POLLYWOG POND
In a moonlit night
on a spring day,
the croak of a frog
pierces through the whole cosmos
turning it into
a single family.
- Chang Chin-ch'en, From the Golden Age of Zen, p. 284
(Click on pictures below to see larger image)
VISIT TIBARTAUDIO.COM TO HEAR OUR POND FROGS AND MORE!
CLICK HERE TO HEAR COPE'S GREY TREE FROGS' MATING SONG. Thanks to Lang Elliott for identifying the aggressive "squeaks" that you hear on this segment.
HERE you can here male Wood Frogs giving their spring croaks in early February. They freeze solid in the winter! Thanks to Tom Pelletier's article "Frozen Frogs Come to Life" about this phenomenon.
As you saw on our A Garden In Progress page, the building of the pond was completed by June 1 - the Summer Solstice. We began hearing frogs calling by the pond right away and their mating songs went on for weeks. (I knew those tiny bottles of champagne would get results!) Eggs appeared in the pond, then tadpoles (pollywogs as we call them down South) and as of July 27, tiny, jewel-like froglets began crawling up the foliage, some with their tadpoles tails still attached! Watching these beautiful creatures hatch and crawl out of the pond has been an incredible experience. They have brought the magic of nature to our summer.
Summer Pond.
Copes Grey Tree Frog.
Green Frog.
Leopard Frog.
From eggs to tadpoles, the cycle begins. If you look at the close up photo of the tadpole, you will also see Water Fleas swimming around. We discovered thousands of tiny water fleas one night when looking at the pond life with a flashlight!
On July 27, Homer was out by the pond when he noticed what he thought were Ladybugs all over the pond plants. Closer inspection showed tiny little frogs who had just climbed out of the water. Needless to say, we began an extravaganza of photography!
We've been really pleased with the plant life in the pond. The temperatures have been warm enough to allow them to thrive including this beautiful water lily.
Look with glasses
beneath the surface
of teeming, crawling,
swarming night.
All is there,
all there is,
sweetly secret,
brutal life.
TDS
(above poem copyright 2011-2013 - Elizabeth Dozier Steedly)
To see ponds we've built in the past and the amazing wildlife they attracted, visit the links below:
NatureSound Studio by Lang Elliot
Curious Nature - Tom Pelletier's wonderful site.
It was here that I first learned of the habits of the Wood Frogs!