It is spring… there are daffodils and primulas… splashes of colour are everywhere… violets nestle beside the pathways and birds dart around with treasures in their beaks ready to build their nests.
And the frogs are back.
Lots of them.
Now, I like frogs. Nice little creatures. But there are limits. When they begin throwing themselves suicidally at the French windows in a desperate attempt to mate with their own reflection you know it is time to start keeping a close watch on the fish. Frogs don’t care. When the urge takes them, they are going to mate come hell, high water, or the spines on a sturgeon’s back. The first year the sturgeon were in my son’s pond was fraught with horror as we disentangled vice like limbs from deep within their gills.
So far this year, there have been no incidents other than a frantic broddling with a long stick to detach the one trying to mate with the pond pump before it became entangled in the mechanism. Every footstep through the garden is attended by a ‘plop’ as another pair dive for safety… every inch of space to which a frog can cling is duly being clung to. I stopped counting a while ago.
I have written of the horrors before and have no desire to do so again. The frogs will make the garden interesting for several weeks to come… there will be a final crescendo of activity when the eight legged frog will become anything up to a twenty four legged beastie…and then they will disperse as we heave a sigh of relief, leaving only a mass of frogspawn and a mere handful of solitary residents behind.
The birds are less of a problem, fed throughout the winter they go about the business of mating and nesting with less frenzy and we watch them come and go, delighting in their presence. Kites soar even here and the heron glares at me occasionally for having designed a heron-proof pond. The squirrels will be about again shortly and all sorts of little creatures rustle and bustle about.
“There’s something on the birdfeeder.” How he thought I was going to identify a bird at the other end of a phone, I couldn’t imagine.
“What does it look like?”
“A squirrel…”
“That’ll be a squirrel then.”
“Do all squirrels have bushy tails?” Well, usually… “’Cause this one has a tail like a rat.”
“….!!!”
I explained. He argued its agility rivalled the squirrel. Except it seemed to live under the bridge over the pond. I explained some more. Now he has me stock the bird table for furred as well as feathered guests. It is surprising what you can find in an urban garden.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Not too many people like frogs too much, but I am one who does. Spring is a great time of year.
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As long as they leave my son’s fish alone, I love watching them.
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Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole.
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sure glad our frogs can’t reach our windows
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It’s not a pretty sight when they do…
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Is that really a heron IN YOUR GARDEN??? I’ve seen quite a few round here, lots of rivers and a lake for every day of the year, so they say, but they’re usually quite shy.
Yeah the frogs are terrible when the mating frenzy takes them. Dont know how the females survive it.
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That was a heron in my son’s garden… I’ve had them too when I had the pond. I seem to see a lot of herons…
This one was waiting on my son’s bungalow roof when I got there one day.. the pond had a problem and though normally heron proof the drop in water meant the fish were vulnerable. It came down to land on the handrails long enough for me to grab the camera… I almost always have it 🙂
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I think your camera is grafted on to you… you never miss a moment, or that perfect shot!
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I don’t often move without it, I have to say 🙂 Thank goodness it isn’t a big complicated thing though!
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Lol! Robo-Sue! 😁
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LOL! Pretty much… it hangs over my shoulder with the handbag… primed and ready to fire 😉
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what a wonderful offering this morning to greet me, susan… and your heron is majestic if not a hungry beast. i have my white crane and prefer her i think, perhaps a little less mercenary! and the frogs… yes, the frogs. for us it’s more lizards and the occasional snake. gotta love ’em, they were here first. 🙂
xxx
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I don’t mind them… as long as they don’t try mating with the fish. It isn’t pretty…
The herons are the closest we generally come to cranes.. and herons are always on the look out for fish.
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haha,, no i bet not! i think i’m glad to not have any anymore. ours froze to death one winter in the fountain where they lived. they had grown from wee little beings to great hulking orange things, always begging and little else.
i DID try to rescue them but it was the year of the completely frozen in place, burnt out pump, freeze.
well, enjoy that glorious flower world of yours! and take no prisoners would be my advice to he who has rodents with long bald tails! eek….
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The rodent seems perfectly at home, munching on the birdtable about three feet away this morning… the bald tailed squirrel strikes again 🙂
Nick has very,very large fish in his pond… the sturgeon are near three feet long now. I don’t fancy the heron’s chances with those… 🙂
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maybe the sturgeon will eat those rodents for him! i tossed out all my feeders to get rid of the feisty little creepy things. make me shudder to think….
🙂
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The sturgeon won’t, but Simon the ghost koi just might.. he’s always hungry 🙂
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I love Herons…there is a trout farm 10 minutes away and the Herons sit in trees above the pens gazing at the trout which thay can’t get at.
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I designed my son’s pond to be heron-proof. So far so good… apart from the day we had a problem with the pump and it half emptied. Which is when the heron first showed up. They don’t miss a trick.
had a lovely encounter with one at Ilkley last summer though, watched it for ages fishing in the Wharfe.
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There is usually one fishing on the weir at Otley – I see it most evenings when I come home from work. It is surprising how many people miss it – they spend all their time feeding the ducks and swans and 50 yards away is this beautiful Heron 🙂
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Oh I know.. people seem not to see so much! We get it with the hawks all the time… as if they are invisible.
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Lovely post, Sue. I love herons and am lucky to live not far from a river where I can watch them fish. Nearby is a viewpoint from which to watch the ospreys. In fact, they should be back any day now.
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Ospreys? Ooooh! I envy you that!
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Spring is wonderful when everyone is “twitterpated!” 😉
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The wise old owl knew what he was talking about 🙂
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Fantastic heron! We also have frogs – and toads. The tree toads begin their cacaphony as soon as it warms up and stay loud all summer long – it’s enough to keep you awake at night. The frogs are around too, and love to swim in our pool. I’ve gotten used to fishing them out on a regular basis. Sometimes I look over and see one swimming along with me!
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I wouldn’t mind that so much… I’ve swum with worse 🙂 It’s the mating frenzy and the fish that worry me ..
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Oh, I just love the frogs. Do you get the Spring Peepers? By the way, we haven’t defrosted yet. I am not upstate but I am pretty sure the pond is still frozen. NYC has temps still in the 30s F. xx ellen
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No, we only have two native species, the Common Frog and a similar one that became extinct but was reintroduced a while ago. Definitely spring here! The daffodils are in bloom 🙂
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