A Froggy, Froggy Night

The mood of the land was palpably different tonight as I tucked my pant legs into my socks before traversing the tall grass. Fireflies poked tiny holes in the darkness on the edge of the wood while distant lightning flashed softly in the southwest sky. The air was still and no thunder could be heard, so I didn’t worry about the far off storm.

Knowing the weather could change at any minute, I abandoned my usual strategy of stealthy ambush and went straight to the heart of a chorus at the end of a small pothole in the south meadow—a 150 square foot, shallow depression that stays filled with water nearly year round and serves as an incubator for a plethora of forest and meadow life.

Several crawfish hung motionless a few inches beneath the still surface and were unbothered by the bright light supplied by the magic of fresh batteries.

I followed the call of a leopard frog at the west end. Along the way, a large frog—startled and confused—jumped from behind me, bumped squarely into my left leg mid-flight, landed, then quickly launched himself into the water—all of this too quickly for me to get a good look.

I was still chuckling from the encounter, when I looked down to see the leopard frog at my feet, his bright green back standing out in the grass, yet too hidden for a good photo.

As I watched the leopard, something hopped a foot beyond him, and I shifted my light to see a gray tree frog clinging to the grass. I snapped a handful of pics, then turned back to leopard, but he had taken advantage of my distraction and moved on.

From there, I walked to the pond where frogs were eager to pose. Stealth to the wind, I crashed through blackberries and rushes, keeping my light trained on eyes ahead. I don’t know what changed from twenty-four hours earlier when voices seemed separated from any physical form, but tonight calls came from bodies, and the bodies were inhabited by willing models.

Green frogs remained hidden, and the big bulls evaded me yet again, but cricket frogs and smaller bullfrogs were not the least but shy. The stars of the night were a medium-sized bullfrog who remained unflinching as I bore down on him with my lens, and a cricket frog sporting a brilliant green pattern who I caught with his vocal sac inflated.

I shot steadily for twenty minutes until few rain drops and a strong wind signaled time to tuck the camera in my shirt and run for the house. As soon as I closed the door, the heavens released. An initial heavy shower was brief, but followed shortly by a steady light rain and rumbling thunder—perfect for writing beside an open window.