Big, ugly frog in the pool

No, no, not the kind that you kiss that turns into a prince. This is in fact, a genuinely ugly type of frog that we get around here, and that like the cute little frogs, wind up in the pool occasionally. Actually, the cute little ones frequently wind up in the pool and our rescue rate is only about 50%. It’s a little different with the big ones because they seem to fairly quickly figure out how to climb on top of the hose that is attached to the underwater vacuum (affectionately called Ray because it looks sort of like a small stingray). As I explained in an earlier post about the crab getting into the pool, we never quite know what we might find in there, and it is a bit amusing to watch the birds try to take a drink, then react when they realize it isn’t fresh water. Anyway, back to the big frogs.

I appreciate Mother Nature’s diversity and try to be kind to creatures in general, notwithstanding that we have a regular exterminator service. When a creature is outside though and minding it’s own business, I feel no compulsion to get rid of it (well, okay, wasps don’t qualify for leniency). You can’t really tell from the photo, but these particular frogs are a khaki color and are about the size of the palm of my hand, but I’m sure they have a purpose in life. However – and I do understand that from the frog’s perspective, being scooped up into a net is not always a good thing – when I was trying to rescue it, a little cooperation would have been appreciated. No, instead of sitting in the net until I could gently place him on the ground, he (could have been a she) eluded me the first few tries. I did, of course, prevail, and judging by the speed with which he disappeared, he didn’t seem to be in bad shape. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and will pass the word around in frog land.