March 25, 2010

The Trees Are Alive…With the Sound of…. – It’s Fertilizer Friday

When we moved south of the border on a steamy August day in 1999, we quickly made a discovery.  When night would fall, the trees seemed to come alive…..with the sound of music!  Well, not real music but an awfully loud racket.  Upon inquiry, I learned that the nightly din was tree frogs.

As the years went by, the nighttime ritual on hot and humid nights became a regular part of life.   Yet the tree frogs remained elusive.  Just hanging out in the tree in the dark of the night practicing their vocals.

Until last summer that is.  I heard that familiar sound.  In the middle of the day.  On my deck.

Tree Frog Peeking
Come out, come out wherever you are!

Tree Frog Oh!  There you are!  And there it was!  Live in person!  10 feet away.  Scared the beejezus out of me!  And then….

Tree Fog
He stared me down in a most threatening way!  Look at those ET fingers!

Tree Fog leaving
Luckily it was a short visit!

Tree Fog leaving 2
Off he went!

Tree Fog leaving 3
Now that I’ve seen one, I hope just to hear them!  I'm such a weenie!

Well that’s it for this week.  Please join Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday!

17 comments:

Avalon's Garden and Mewsings of Garden Cottage Cats said...

I have always heard them,but never have seen one! How tiny!! I don't think too many people have ever seen them,lucky you! How interesting. Have a great weekend!

Teresa said...

Great shots. He does have a stern look on his face. Maybe a defense mechanism to keep humans at bay. Sounds like it worked for him. Fun post.

Larry said...

How neat!!! No frogs to be heard here yet ... just thousands of Canadian geese and sandhill cranes... Larry

deb said...

You are so lucky to have frogs!!! We heard some a few years back but never saw them and they don't stop by anymore :( Love little tree frogs
*hugs*deb

Anonymous said...

That's funny. Gosh, we're loaded with them here. You have to check under the cushions before you sit down. They like to snooze under them. I brought some house plants in last fall, and yep, you guessed it. One was hiding in one of the pots. I kicked him out.

Darla said...

The garden is full of surprises!

Denise said...

Great pictures, can't say I like frogs either, but they're cute in photos and the sound would probably be nice at night... or not! Our neighbor has a pond and there is one large frog that starts making a racket each year!

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Sorry, but I love froggies! This one was especially cute. Now having said that...I much prefer the ones I can sit on my patio table..or on a shelf. Holding one or ..anything like that...maybe not!

Lona said...

What wonderful pictures. They do have ET fingers LOL!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures.
Lona

Tootsie said...

those are super neat! I prefer frogs to mice!!! lol
great post today...thanks for linking in with your little monsters! lol

Tootsie said...

p.s. good luck with your cold frame!

Noel Morata said...

here in hawaii we have cute small coakie frogs that sound like birds at night time...in a distance they are beautiful, but next to your window...they are pure hell and to think they are less then the size of a dime!

Unknown said...

Loved this post - laughed through it ;-) I don't know how tree frogs sound so they probably are annoying to you. Ours are just ole green croakie frogs - not sure what they're called but I love hearing them at night laying in bed. I can probably appreciate ours more because we don't hear them that often. I tell my grandsons to listen to the choir! One moved into a planter on the deck and I was thrilled to death. I even named him Kadiddlehopper. Then another showed up but I wasn't sure if it was a different one or the same one so I called him Clem. After that not knowing (because I never saw the 2 (if there were 2) at the same time so I just called it/them Clem Kadiddlehopper. Guess he got tired of getting watered and moved out. LOL

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★Carol★ said...

No frog song here yet! The cabin we stay at in Wisconsin in the summer has a lake at the front of the cabin, and there is a pond in the back, and i just love to listen to the frogs sing! Sometimes they get so loud though that we have to close the windows. Those are amazing pictures Maureen!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

My son is into reptiles and amphibians. He would know if we have them in Nebraska. We apparently don't in the city. I'm glad you had the presence of mind to take some photos. I think it's a cute creature, but I don't know if I'd want to be surprised by one. I wonder how many insects they keep out of your garden?

Fun photos!

linda may said...

Oh... how could you be scared by that adorable little creature. So tiny and perfect.