It was a lazy afternoon. Nancy was out of town. I headed for the back yard, settled in my front row seat beside our goldfish pond, lit up a cigar and enjoyed a splash of Evan Williams Small Batch bourbon. My first encounter with a backyard critter was a cottontail rabbit. He hopped down the sidewalk, took one look at me and figured I was way too old and out of shape to give chase. So, he … [Read more...]

I believe I am one of a select few that has daily interactions with frogs. Last winter, we had three frogs. One large one, one small one and one teeny one. Cold weather appeared and the frogs disappeared, sinking as they do when the water cools to the bottom. They simply turn off their engines and hibernate. Early this spring, we had three frogs emerge. The same three, I’m sure. Today, we still … [Read more...]

I have long since given up trying to predict or even figure out frog activities in our yard. We have a small (35 gallon) lily pond and a larger goldfish pond and frogs come and go, Last winter, we had one fairly large bull frog that wintered in our larger pond. When he thawed out, he hung around for a week or so, then vamoosed. Or at least we thought he left. Last month, I saw a nose peeking … [Read more...]

  Beautiful water lilies and hyacinths will come. Fish will come. Frogs will come and you can look forward to many pleasant hours sitting beside your goldfish pond. That is, if you build it. We did, obviously, and I’d like to share our experiences just in case you’d like to put in a pond in your yard. The hole is the hardest part. If you or a neighbor have a small backhoe, then you’re … [Read more...]

We have had goldfish in our various backyard ponds for over 20 years. They all originated from a dozen small goldfish I had bought for bait. I used 4 of the goldfish without luck and had 8 left over. Thinking I might try again, I put the survivors in Nancy’s 35-gallon lily pond and was severely reprimanded when the illegal aliens were discovered. But Nancy began feeding them. They came eagerly to … [Read more...]

We went into winter with 4 frogs in our little goldfish pond – one big one, one medium sized frog and two about the size of a large lima bean. As I have come to discover, when the air and water temperatures get cold enough, frogs just sink to the bottom and go semi-dormant. When that first warm spell hit in February, they came to life, then sunk out of sight when it got cold again. They are out … [Read more...]

I have become fascinated with frogs. They are interesting creatures, to say the least. Since we installed our goldfish pond a few years back, frogs have paid us visits. Some have come via the tadpoles I bought and introduced to the pond while others just show up. Where they came from, I have no clue, but my neighbor Kenny Hoy said a snapping turtle showed up one day in his driveway, miles away … [Read more...]

One of my favorite Uncle Remus stories is “Teenchy Tiny Duck”, a tale of little puddle duck who found a satchel of money. I read it often and drive my children crazy, but my grandkids enjoy the story. I don’t have a Teenchy Tiny Duck in my backyard, but I do have a Teenchy Tiny Frog – a really Teenchy Tiny Frog. When he is perched on a lily pad, he appears to be about the size of marble, no … [Read more...]

  We have a bullfrog in our pond. We can hear him croak from time to time. Not the deep bass “Jug o’ rum! Jug o’ rum!” that a mature bullfrog makes. But a nice fat croak. I think this bull frog was a late developing tadpole from a half dozen bullfrog tadpoles we bought about a year ago. Most of the tadpoles became frogs quickly, then seemed to vanish, but “Billy Bull” hung in there and now … [Read more...]