Definitely Dog (and Frog?) Days...

 Adult Cope's Gray Tree Frog and tadpoles

in both of the rain barrels.

Mid summer and the heat is on...Dog Days of Summer comes to mind, but frogs have a mind of their own!  We had been having a lot of evening "music" in the yard here and in the valley below...love hearing the frogs sing at night!  Apparently some Cope's Gray Tree Frogs took a real liking to our side rain barrels and laid eggs there, which then gave us a bumper crop of tree frog tadpoles.  Only real drawback has been not being able to use water out of the barrels...it hasn't rained here in 16 days and the heat is oppressive in the yard and gardens.
 

 Rain Barrel Hotels

 

Little Cope's Gray Tree Frog still with a bit of it's

tadpole tail - with a dime for size comparison!

 A drink glass with just a few tadpoles.

 A Little goofing around (I hope!).

The tree frogs have been a fun diversion to the acreage...kind of takes me back to being a kid again!  My Mother would let me keep frogs, toads and turtles in the basement..."Free Range"!  We really were pretty bug free for a few years until I grew out of the menageries!

I actually became pretty good at raising frogs and toads - there were gallon honey jars everywhere (no honey in them of course!) filled with water and vegetation and tadpoles; it was a real blast watching the transformation.  Now-a-days it's just fine sharing a garden path with toads and frogs on occasion as well as enjoying the night music!

Aside from Herps I've been busy with a few Artisan Road Trip exhibits and a small solo showing....A.R.T has had 2 exhibits simultaneously in Minnesota and Iowa one at the Nobles County Art Center in Worthington, Minnesota and one at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, Iowa.  on August 1st we'll also have an exhibit at the Red Rock Art Center in Fairmont, Minnesota too.  On top of all that I have a small exhibit that'll run all summer (though August) at the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center at Lost Island Lake in Palo Alto County.

"Spring Bobolink"

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

On top of all that I have a small exhibit that'll run all summer (through August) at the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center at Lost Island Lake in Palo Alto County, north of Ruthven, Iowa.

"Dickcissel"

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

The natural wetland areas around Lost Island are a particular favorite of mine; commingling the wetlands and the tallgrass prairie "is the best of both worlds"!

"Big Bluestem in Bloom"

color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison

The Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center gives the public an appreciation and basic understanding of the wetlands and offers opportunities to enjoy the beauty of these natural treasures.  One of the goals of the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center is to give to give visitors the information and skills needed to make wise decisions regarding our natural resources, to become better stewards of the land and to make an impression that will last a lifetime.

Its been a busy summer so far! Catch the showing of select artwork on display July through the end of August - and take in the beauty of our wetlands and prairies while you're at it!  A win -win!

 

Stay cool out there! 

Evening Bliss

Cope's Gray Tree Frog
Hyla chrysoscelis

We've had some great evening ambiance here at Prairie Hill Farm this late spring. Each evening around dusk the Tree and Cricket frogs begin serenading below the north pasture. This makes for wonderful sleeping here when the serenade lulls us into that blissful state.

I love the sounds of nature as well as the sights and smell. And I like to save the sounds and savor for other times - like in 3 feet of snow at 25 below zero! Ha! What better time to bring it back and listen to...warms up the soul!

But it's great now! We're savoring it each evening we can, and we want to share it with you.

The Cope's Gray Tree Frog is found here in the yard too, so I can occasionally get photos of them here. The Cricket Frogs are more secretive and are in the wetlands nearby here. They are the noisy ones...sound like a "steelie" tap, tap, tapping together constantly. The tree frogs are more mellow...a brief quick trill...not to high or too low. It's hard to describe, but I find it very pleasant.

Frogs don't call all summer long; they call, sing...whatever you like to call it, only for a few brief weeks...it's for procreation and then it's over. They're still out there, but we'll no longer hear them after their "time" is through.

Well...occasionally one will get a bur up it's hinny and sing out of the blue, but for the most part - when they're done, they're done! Too bad - they're fun to listen to!

The tree frogs are almost finished with their singing season now, but the Cricket Frogs are at their peak and the Bull Frogs will begin their reign soon.

Please scan down to the video player below (it kinda gets lost on my black background blog page - if you are on my email list, the video/audio link will not show up - in that case please come to the blog site itself to listen in).

I'm attaching an audio file for you to listen to of the chorus here last week. Hope you enjoy!