I was duck nest hunting today round the back of our shed. I'm sure they are laying (they were and then mysteriously stopped) but I'm also sure they are hiding their eggs! But peering into a flax bush, I found something else. Look close....
Isn't s/he gorgeous!! I've never seen a frog in New Zealand before. This one is an introduced species called the Green and Golden Bell Frog. And it kindly stayed put while I got the kids to show them and then took pictures of it. (The kids wanted to take it inside for a pet, of course, but we left it where it was).
I'm hoping this means good things. Frogs breath through their skins in a way and are very sensitive to chemicals and sprays. I'm hoping this wee froggy reflects our mainly organic way of living and gardening. There is no pond out where s/he was, just a soggy ditch and the water tank (that is currently overflowing every time it rains). But I'm hoping in summer, it will find it's way to our dam (avoiding the ducks) and produce a few more little croakers.
Ribbit.
I've been hearing a frog in our (soggy) back hedge for some time now. Probably an Australian import too.
ReplyDeleteParents in law farmlet had old water barrels and an old bathtub full of tadpoles which the kids just loved.
viv in Dunedin
Cool! I surprised one on Dad's deck in Qld but have never seen (or heard) one where I am.
ReplyDeleteNow that is exiting! I too would be stoked to think a frog thought our land was god enough to live at. May you have many little froglets
ReplyDeleteOO he's a real cutie!
ReplyDeleteWe love frogs - we hear lots of them in the garden in the summer. They are a burrowing kind called the Motorbike frog (after the noise the make). You never see them but they sound wonderful.
ReplyDeleteOne Of These Just Jumped On My Face ' Scary i Stay In An Sleepout & I Can Say Im Not Going Back In there For Awhile Sleeping Inside Tonight!!!
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