RAISING TADPOLES

Now I know why I heard the tree frogs melodic trill every day by the barbecue. The pool was right off the deck and filled with rainwater, fallen  leaves and algae-an ideal place for them to lay their eggs. 

Before dismantling the pool, my son, Richard, netted up as many tadpoles as he could find. He placed them in a bucket with some of the pool water. We later drove to a nearby creek to release them but on the way decided to keep a few to raise at home. After releasing most of them into the swampy creek area with our blessing, we purchased a small starter tank with a lid. We then transferred the tadpoles and added some bottled spring water to the tank.

With a little online research, I found that a few people had success with feeding them lettuce. So, giving them part shade/part sun, they are thriving on romaine lettuce. I’ve added an algae disc that attaches to the tank to see if they eat it and tomorrow, I’ll add some gravel to the tank. When they grow legs, they’ll need a place to climb out of the water and maybe a larger container. After they grow legs and loose their tales, I can release them into the back woods to sing to me their sweet night song.

Thank you Richard for helping me to experience this exciting process and for supporting my childish nature. I’ll change lenses and try to get better photos and keep you posted on their development. 

COTTON TAILS

The spring rabbits have shown up in the grass and one takes cover under my car in the driveway. I've watched them for up to an hour or so eating their way through the grass and showing off those white fluffy cotton tails.  

I’ve come to know that instead of finding a few minutes here and there throughout the day, I prefer to sit and write for an extended period of time.  Being outdoors, particularly in the morning when the earth is so fresh, the early light peacefully inspires me. On cold or rainy days, like this past week, the leisure of lighting a candle or playing soft music helps me to be invited into the page. Through the window, I watched the rain, so silent-so fine, while I continued to battle the recent invasion of carpenter ants by my kitchen window.

There are lots of tree frogs around lately and I still love to hear their calls. I remember their calls through the summer night but now during the day they are quite active and I can always find at least one by the barbecue, just under its cover. Yesterday, while picking one up to closely admire its mossy green skin, it leaped into my blouse before I could place it back down.  Of course, it jumped right back to where I found it. They are curious little creatures and they always look as if they’re smiling. 

The dismantling of our pool is scheduled for this weekend. The pool was erected last summer with no success of clean filtered water to swim in. So, after expenses of a new sand filter and hundreds of dollars in chemicals and lots of hard work back washing, I will be glad to see it go. It proved to be more work than we were willing to invest. After the disgusting water was drained, a little rainwater has accumulated, evidently enough for some paddling insects and now tadpoles. Hopefully, we can scoop them out and transport them to the creek where they will thrive more naturally. A simple fire pit with some seating and easy potted plants will replace the pool area. Well, that’s the plan-let’s see how it goes.