The Backyard Science group regularly publishes The Daily Bucket, which features observations of the world around us. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds, flowers and anything natural or unusual are worthy additions to the Bucket and its comments. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record we can refer to as we try to understand the patterns that are unwinding around us.
It was a dark and stormy night. The gang of restless teenagers stole into the darkness, recklessly cutting through the neighbors' yards as fast as their skinny legs could carry them. Fences proved no obstacle to their dash, as they careened into a series of ponds, heedless of their impacts on the carefully arranged plantings.
Continue reading below the mobius strip for the conclusion to their wilding.
Fortunately, I managed to take pictures of some of these headstrong intruders. Here is one:
Click on any picture to embiggen.
Yes, there are now two frogs in the Frog Mitigation Area, a 5 x 5 pond and 25 foot creek and waterfall I recently dug into my side yard. About half a dozen small frogs all arrived the day after last week's sudden thunderstorms, which continued into Wednesday night and Thursday morning, presumably providing the cover for the 2-inch-long juvenile bullfrogs (not including legs) to move into my backyard. After a little too much wine, I'd left the pond pumps on all night, so they may have heard the running water on their trek from Rock Creek, a mile to the east.
All three ponds now have a couple of frogs, including the newly opened Frog Mitigation Area, and its newly named Pear Pond. I even found one frog huddled under a paving stone, in a wet spot where the irrigation system had leaked. They are all the same size.
I am not that upset they are non-native bullfrogs. I'd already spotted some malignant spirochete shaped mosquito larvae wriggling in the new pond, so I need any frog at all, ASAP, to eat them up immediately. I don't want to put fish in that pond to eat the skeeters, it's reserved for frogs, but I certainly don't want to give mosquitoes free rein.
I would have much preferred to see native tree frogs. I released 7 tree frog tadpoles into Pear Pond a month ago, and never saw them again. They were excruciatingly tiny, small as water bugs, and may still be in there, lurking under the lily leaves.
A couple of Bewick wrens and some other little brown birds are also stopping by, attracted by the running water in newly named Little Metolius Creek. I moved a bird feeder over, and they are working it hard.
If they get thirsty, just pop over to the waterfall and sip some water.
Here's a look at Little Metolius Creek, feeding into Pear Pond, with the pear tree in the foreground, and a nice sequoia redwood just beyond the fence in the background.
Ok, ok, its not finished, but its better than it was a few months ago:
Finally, a hummingbird provides me another bonus, with its frequent evening visits to the upper reaches of the pear tree. Take my word of it, it's on a thin branch in the center of this picture.
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" will be posted every Saturday at 1pm and Wednesday at 3:30 pm Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.
Now It's Your Turn What's interesting to you? Please post your own observations and your general location in the comments.
Thank you for reading. I'll work this morning so I'll respond to comments before lunchtime, PDT.