We Like Frogs

These pictures from last summer remind me how crazy we got about frogs. The bullfrog tadpoles were just thick in the lake and the kids were so into catching them. I was the same way back in the day. And the circle, it goes round and round.....

Fast forward to now, and our most recent trip to the cabin on a weekend in March. On one of our hikes, my mom spotted a huge bullfrog just sitting in the middle of the trail. He was so immobile we were able to stop and check him out without him jumping. When the dog ran right by and the frog didn't even try to move we knew something was really wrong. Each of us had a turn holding it and investigating it. It seemed to have a break in the skin under its' jaw. My mom thought maybe it had broken its' back. When we tried to put it back in the water it sat there long enough that the dog made another pass by and snatched it up.

Well you can imagine how much this FREAKED two frog-lovers out. Julia was furious. Avery started crying. Of course the dog was not about to drop the frog, so off she ran, one rigid flipper sticking out the side of her mouth. She dropped it several times, and each time the frog gave a huge effort at jumping away until she picked it back up again and took off. Finally, after chasing her really fast I found her without the frog and picked it up and tossed it to safety in the lake. It seemed to muscle under the water, surprisingly. We were all so relieved that the dog wasn't going to be the one to finish it off but the frog probably sunk to its demise anyway.

I doubt the girls will ever forget that experience. It will be imprinted on our frog-loving minds until the summer when we can do some more frog hunting.

The factoid of the day: bullfrogs live as tadpoles for two years before maturation into full- fledged frog. They can live 8-10 years.