Pages

Friday, February 24, 2023

Pond of Frogs

 


Without jumping in to the politics of climate change, this winter and last have been unseasonably warm.  As the temperature warranted little more than a light jacket and my disposition would improve with some quiet outdoor time, I drove over to the nearby state park.  Usually I sit on a bench atop a hill, enjoy about twenty minutes looking over the retaining wall down the hill to mostly empty fields and a few trees, this time I opted for the alternate route.  It's purpose seems to be a starting point for hiking, but they also have an elementary nature center.  The display snake must have been at the vet or someplace other than its terrarium.  I sat for a while, looking out the big picture window toward three artificial pools.  They contained frogs.

I went outside, walked to the artificial ponds, and seated myself on the metal bench.  Lots of frogs.  Noisy frogs.  One a reddish orange, all others more gray than green.  They swam with frog-kicks.  Some hopped onto the rocks separating the pools, but only stayed on a rock momentarily before immersing in the next mini-pond.  Don't know if they have predators.  The Nature Center set up bird feeders around the pond, all seemingly untouched.  Didn't see any birds, just frogs.

No comments: