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! 

Herp Chorus

I've been mostly holed up in the studio today as the rain patters on the roof...something about tin roofs that brings to mind being outdoors camping. Love the sound and the sensation of it.

(Northern Leopard Frog)

I also love the sounds of the Chorus and Northern Leopard Frogs at this time of year! The first frogs to "sing" in our region of the prairie are the Western Chorus Frogs and Northern Leopard Frogs.

Many years ago when I was in my early teens I caught several Chorus Frogs and put them in a gallon jar and took them home. My mother (God bless her!) tolerated my habit of releasing frogs and toads in the basement of the house. I told her they'd help keep the silverfish and centipedes down (we lived in an older home). I hadn't released the Chorus Frogs yet though...don't remember why but just sat the jar in a corner by the furnace.

Later in the night my Dad woke up to noise coming up the furnace register...it was still chilly at night in the spring and he thought the furnace fan was making the noise...got up , went downstairs to the basement and turned on the light. As soon as the light came on the noise stopped! He was puzzled but having been roused from a dead sleep he just turned the light out and went back upstairs and back to bed.

Sometime later the noise rising from the furnace ducts woke him again...back downstairs and on comes the light...the noise stops again! He's a bit miffed by now and wide awake so he looks around and there on the floor next to the furnace is a gallon honey jar full of frogs...Ha!

I always think of that when I hear Chorus frogs anymore! Just love it!



If you've ever heard Chorus Frogs you know how they sound...very much like running your finger along a fine toothed comb. And Leopard Frogs kind of remind me of the noise made when you run your thumb along the surface of a balloon...with a few low grunts thrown in. Take a listen while watching the video above.

We're opening the windows at night now and catching a few "zzzzz's" with the neighborhood frogs serenading us...great ambiance!

Now That's Neat...

Tropical weather (it's 26 F "above" zero this morning!) is bringing on a celebratory feeling here at Prairie Hill Farm! I can almost feel the spring breeze and see the first bumblebees of the season seeking out the early flowers on the prairie remnant in our north pasture. Sure it's a stretch, but without these bouts of spring fever we'd almost never make it this early in the winter! Something always triggers a spat of spring fever for me, in this instance it was a phone call.

Georgie and I had spent about 3 months afield late in 2007, visiting natural and cultural sites in NW Iowa...this was for a grant project called Watchable Wildlife of NW Iowa. Our job was to spend each day, or several days, visiting specific sites and videotaping and photographing. Poor us! HA! We loved every minute of it!

Other folks were working on the scripting and idea of the project. The project was administered through the Iowa Lakes RC&D, overseen by Jeff Kestel; the creative folks were two area naturalists - one stationed at the Prairie Heritage Center (Charlene Elyea), and the other at the Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center (Miriam Patton).

The project was worked into a web site of 39 natural and cultural areas, divided into 3 categories - a Glacial Trail loop, a Prairie Pot-hole Birding loop, and a Pioneer History loop. I was asked to design a web site around these loops, to video tape each site and to photograph the sites and flora, fauna, or whatever other characteristics the sites contained. A typical page on the site would introduce a specific site, give the history of the site, a description of the location, and driving directions (pop-up google maps and GPS). There may also be an "Educational Box" that can be used by teachers to explore more facets of the particular site, and there is also a video of the site.

The site's video could be one of two types. We had individuals that were experienced with the site and it's specifics - they were taped on camera talking about the site's characteristics. Or we would just do a composite editing of an overview of the site that would give the viewer a "flavor" of what the site was like, and what may be there.

A good example of a "site" page, this one from the Glacial Trail loop, is the Freda Haffner Kettlehole site page. Scott Moats of the Iowa Nature Conservancy speaks on camera and shows the kettlehole, speaks about the glacial/geological aspects and the wildlife. The text of the page also has pop-up images highlighted to illustrate plants at this location.

There is also a photo gallery page, a "Tip" page (tips on viewing wildlife), and a links page. The links page is loaded with stuff, even a separate video page and a wildlife joke page...OK that one was my idea, I have a silly sense of humor I guess.

I've briefly mentioned this website in this blog before and I guess the only reason I'm mentioning it again is because of the phone call. The web site creator (me) and the agency administering it (Iowa Lakes RC&D) have been given an "Outstanding Media Award" for our work through the Iowa Association of Naturalists and the Iowa Conservation Education Council! Now that's neat! Of course this whole thing would have never happened if Charlene and Miriam hadn't had the original idea in the first place!

Another neat thing (the one that really brings on the bouts with spring fever) is that the website project has just recently received another grant to continue the work and expand to more places in NW Iowa! Hopefully Georgie and I will get to go out and have more fun this summer!

If you're stuck inside and want to kick around the timber or prairies, or just see what's out there, try checking out Watchable Wildlife in NW Iowa and enjoy yourself...who knows maybe you'll find some spots that really peak your interest and can look forward to visiting in person when the mood strikes you!