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Gray Tree Frog

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Remodeling has to wait as a gray tree frog makes a temporary home on the work site. I spend days in the forest looking for them, without success. So they come to me this week. Apparently it enjoys the comfort of a roof slate and funnel. This is nothing unique for my deck, they visit often as seen here,  Flower Container

When I see this frog on my deck or flower pot or garden, I cant help but wonder about chapter 1 of The Sixth Extinction. ( Elizabeth Kolbert) Wildlife preservation and the vanishing natural world surly grabs our attention.

Amphibians survived the dinosaur extinction just fine.  Are they in peril now?

“Life is not a substance, like water or rock; it’s a process, like fire or a wave crashing on the shore. It’s a process that begins, lasts for a while, and ultimately ends. Long or short, our moments are brief against the expanse of eternity.”
― Sean Carroll, The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
–Margaret Atwood
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spring has finally sprung

Unmistakable signs that spring has finally sprung. Most folks have heard the nightly chorus of spring peepers, but few ever have seen them. The one pictured here, is a wood frog I believe.

Fun Facts: Not all frogs in cold climates bury themselves deeply enough to avoid freezing temperatures in the winter. There are actually five species of frogs in North America that can freeze and survive. Two of these frogs are the spring peeper and the Western chorus frog. As temperatures dip below 32 degrees, these frogs start producing their own “antifreeze” to help preserve the most essential organs. Up to 70% of the frog’s body can freeze, to the point that the heart stops pumping and the frog appears to be dead. Scientists still aren’t sure how frozen frogs can wake up again, but once they thaw out and wake up, most frogs will go through a period of healing before they resume their normal lives.