Eat or be eaten

Hey mosquitoes come over here for a minute. 

Over the last few nights I have been noticing a family of frogs out shopping for groceries. Tonight as I returned from walking I stopped to take some photos of one of the green tree frogs that are a staple every year by my front door.  This year though I have noticed some very small ones like the one in the photo I have posted.   It is only about 1/2 inch long and maybe 1/4 inch wide.  It barely covers one of the slender leaves of the hedge at the front door.  They appear to be very young.  I think these frogs place their eggs in the plants that catch and hold water like bananas and elephant ears.  I have never seen a tadpole from a green frog.  I wonder if they are green.  There is a light that stays on from dusk to dawn and has for years so the frogs and lizards congregate near it every night during the warm summer months.   The frog pictured is catching mosquitos and very small moths.  Most everything else that flys around the light is far too big for it to swallow.   I have seen numerous snakes easing past the glass storm door while I sat watching from inside.  The snakes are in search of small game and you can bet your bottom dollar that frog is on the menu.  It seems as though the snakes may have been successful over the last few nights as the number of frogs I have noticed seems to be declining.   It could be that they are just disperesing to a wider territory.    Thanks for reading my blog tonight.  I hope you have a good evening.  Bye.

What the dog saw

Yum! Turtle flavored.

This morning as the dog and I walked out I noticed that the sky had cleared and there was not a cloud to be seen. The sun at 730 am was a brilliant ball in the azure blue sky and was a welcome site. We walked down to the west end of the dirt road and along the way I spotted a large moccasin hiding under 2 feet of water in a drainage basin. I could see that it had a lump in it's body indicating that it had eaten well the night before. After directing the dog around that obstacle we moved on past the yellow jacket nest where someone had poked a long stick into the opening. I pulled the stick out and immediately the yellow jackets flew out in an angry swarm. For some reason they were not very appreciative of my help. As I ran away from the bees I looked back expecting the dog to be following me but instead he was otherwise occupied. It seems he was having some quality time on the opposite side of the road which was very quickly being turned into a stinging session by the yellow jackets. He managed to finish and was running after me with that "why did you do that" look on his face again. Later, when we arrived at the end of the road the dog started sniffing in the weeds and I knew he had found something and that I should watch out for surprises. He quickly located a baseball sized box turtle and started heading back to the house with his booty. I yelled to him as he ran that I was going the other way and that I would see him later. That turned him around and he came running back to me. When he walked up to me he made it clear that he was absolutely not going to give up the turtle. He held it tight just as you see him in the photo. After 15 minutes of fighting with him over the turtle I gave up and just followed him back home. Half way back he stopped and laid down to rest and I caught him with the turtle on the ground and wrestled it away and tossed it over the fence into the woods. It is a good thing dogs can't really speak because my dog was probably using every curse word in the dog language on me. I have to take the turtles from him or he will kill them or swallow pieces of the shell which I am not sure a dog can digest. Fortunately every walk we take is not this eventful otherwise either the dog or me would wind up in the hospital. If you don't have enough adventure during your walks may I suggest that you get yourself a stray dog and take him for a walk on a dirt road each morning and evening. But remember, you must be prepared for anything and I mean anything. Thanks for coming by. Have a good day.