100...From the Cellar to the Fire!

Cope's Gray Tree Frog on Solomon Seal here in the

garden at Prairie Hill Farm

(Click image to view larger size)

Its a windy blustery day here at the studio and acreage...the kind of wind you'd get from a fan placed inside the oven and blowing into your face!  Good grief its only early June and we already hit 100 degrees fahrenheit yesterday!   The yard thermometer said 104 but the official Spencer temp was 100.

This morning I was watering some things in the vegetable garden and some newer flower beds and planters.  With the wind so high I pulled the "sprinkler" spigot off the watering can and refilled from the rain barrels.  Imagine the humorous surprise when I was watering the peppers and a Tree Frog popped out of the spigot with the water onto the plants!  It looked quite surprised!  At least it was hydrated.   :)

 

The frog is a Copes' Gray Tree Frog and very common here and its a favorite of ours! (I say that so much for everything but it is what it is.)  Both Georgie and I love the frogs and toads here.

This is the real beginning of the tree frog season here in the valley.  We'll hear them in chorus with the Cricket Frogs for the next 3-4 weeks, then they'll be quiet (for the most part) for the rest of the summer.  But we'll keep finding them here in the yard and around the buildings all summer long.  Gotta love these little guys!

Watch your step and enjoy our small gifts!

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!