Tree Frog Blog

Don and I were talking yesterday about things we hadn't seen this year.  The Baltimore Orioles didn't swing by on their annual migration, and we've been seeing them in April for the past several years.  We've seen a few chipmunks this year, but not many, and the Carolina Wrens, who have been nesting on the front porch for a few years, have been not been seen or heard from.  Hummingbirds are few in number.  But what we've missed the most are the fawns.  Several does frequent the area around our house, and they have all obviously dropped their fawns, but we hadn't seen one yet.  And it's hard to wait.

In the meantime, there are other things that merit noticing.  Take tree frogs, for example.  Sunday morning, as I watered plants, I saw a small green tree frog on the Impatiens, about 5/8" long from nose to rump.  When I stooped to get a better look, I realized that I was only inches from a second frog, then a third hopped out from under the leaves, and a fourth.  I wondered just how many frogs might be hiding there, and I also wondered how long they've been there without me even noticing them.  So now I'm trying to pay more attention.  Yesterday morning there was at least 1 tree frog on the Geranium, and 2 on the Salvia, stacked on the leaves like passengers in the sleeping compartment of a train.

And then, before full light this morning, Don called me to the window and pointed to the field below.  There, running along at its mother's heels, was a tiny spotted fawn. The pair wasn't in sight more than a few minutes, but we decided, in that short span of time, that some things are definitely worth the wait.