Category Archives: Frogs

Catching Up

crochet, Forsythia, Frogs, Moon, Parkinson's Disease, Reflections, Toads

Parkinson’s Awareness Month

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness month so I will start by sharing this link to the Parkinson’s Foundation website that has a wealth of information and resources regarding Parkinson’s disease.

I am so blessed that 5 1/2 years post diagnosis my PD has not progressed. In fact, many of the symptoms I was experiencing when I was initially diagnosed have gone away. I am not on any medications, but I do take some supplements that help with the conditions that I still experience – mostly muscle cramps and head and neck tremors.

I’m not going to go into detail about everything I’ve tried and what I’ve found that helps, but if anyone would like more details leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to share.

Staying Healthy

In January I began my 60th trip around the sun. In pondering what I wanted to accomplish this year I decided my goal was ‘to be the best Me that I could be’. In order to do that I thought maintaining my health is probably one of the most important things that I can do. In order to maintain my health, however, there were some areas that I needed to change – first and foremost diet and exercise.

I wanted to make changes that would last a lifetime so in December I started forming new diet and exercise habits.

My diet changes look like this – I started cutting calories by cutting out sweetener in my coffee. Then I looked at how much I was eating. It seems I’ve spent a lifetime eating until I was full, and it occurred to me that I only need to eat until I am satisfied not until I am full. I started cutting down on portions. For example, for breakfast I will eat one egg, one piece of toast (instead of two), two pieces of bacon (instead of three), and 1/2 glass of orange juice (instead of a full glass). Similar cuts are made with lunches and dinners.

We have also begun eating a lot of tossed salads and fresh fruit. I still eat desserts but again I only eat enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. I find that usually about 5 bites is good.

I have also developed an exercise routine. Not only will exercise help me lose weight, build muscle and increase my metabolism, it is one of the things that is most recommended as far as treatments for Parkinson’s disease. I began in December by riding my recumbent bike a minimum of 20 minutes three times a week. I continued this through January, then in February I upped my game. I began riding almost every day and increased my time most days to 30 minutes. I might miss a day now and then but somedays I will ride extra minutes.

I am happy to say that since February 1st I have lost 15 pounds and just as happy that I I seem to have less muscle stiffness and cramping.

Eclipse

During the eclipse that was visible in parts of the US on April 8th my husband and I decided to go to the farm and experience it. We didn’t have eclipse glasses so we couldn’t actually watch the moon cross in front of the sun, but we wanted to see how dark it would get and how the chickens and wildlife (birds) reacted. We were not in the path of totality, but I think our area was reported to be 96-98%. The sky was mostly clear with only some thin wispy clouds.

Full coverage (98%) was supposed to be at 3:15 P.M. (Ignore the time and date on the photo. My camera is messed up and won’t let me into the menu to change the settings.) It didn’t get very dark out. It was like a cloudy day, yet it had an eerie feel to it. The birds continued to do what they were doing, and by the time the rooster began calling his hens, thinking night was coming, it was getting light again.

I stood under the barn porch and without looking I aimed my camera toward the sun to take some pictures. After I had taken several my husband told me that doing that could have ruined my camera because I was supposed to have some kind of filter on it. Oops! My camera doesn’t seem to be any worse off than it already was and below is a photo of what my camera saw at 3:15 on April 8th.

Spring Has Sprung

One of my favorite parts of spring is when our forsythias are in full bloom as they are right now.

A stunning display.

So brilliant and uplifting.

Daffodils are also in full bloom adding to the beauty of the season.

Some of the other things I loved about last week were seeing the first dragonflies of the year and hearing the mating songs of the toads. For more on toad mating see this post from last year.

Finishing Touches

After redoing the floor and the cabinets in our bathroom last month I still wasn’t satisfied. I thought the mirror frame needed updating. Since it was made out of a plastic or resin I wasn’t sure how well paint would adhere to it, so I took a different approach.

At the fabric store I found ribbon that was the perfect color and width. I used clear craft glue to attach the ribbon to the mirror frame.

Once I had the ribbon on the overlapping corners looked sloppy, so I needed to dress them up. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for when I went to the dollar store, but when I saw these butterflies, I knew that was it. They would complement both the ribbon and the flowered wallpaper.

We love the results.

Crochet

I finished the baby afghan I was making.

I also made this heart shaped stuffed octopus. The octopus is my own design. I am calling them octo-loves.

In Memory of Peanut

It was a sad day when our Dear Friend Peanut went to wait at the rainbow bridge.

“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

“When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

“All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

“They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

“You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

“Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….”

Peanut was a friend to all creatures great and small.

He couldn’t resist a comfortable lap to sit in.

To quote our granddaughter, Addie “Peanut is the best cat in the whole wide world.”

My husband honored Peanut with a special resting place for his remains.

He is dearly missed.

Thanks for visiting. What are you loving about spring?

Home Sweet (Froggy) Home

Frogs, Reflections

I learned something this week. I don’t think like a frog.

Regular readers will remember this recent post about the frog who was interfering with my watering routine by hanging out in my watering can. We thought we had solved the problem by giving it and alternative housing option. It was a pretty cool setup if you ask me.

The frog, however, didn’t ask me and apparently didn’t share my opinion because it left its new home that evening and did not return. After a couple of days of keeping my watering can in the mud room, we started leaving it on the deck – up on the table. On Tuesday when I was refilling the watering can with the hose guess who hopped out. Yep! Somehow that frog had found its way back into the watering can even though the can was up on the table.

Well, its persistence paid off. When my husband got home the frog was hanging out on the garden hose and since my husband wanted to use the hose, he moved the frog back to the watering can.

I then placed the watering can in the flower bed. I think it’s garden art with a purpose.

Later that day, when my husband was going to the farm store, I asked him to pick up another watering can. He obliged. 🙂

Our Watering Can(‘t)

Frogs, Reflections

Several days ago my husband discovered that the watering can that we leave on our deck, for watering our potted plants, was clogged up. No water would come out. As he removed the screw-on sprinkler head from the can to clear the blockage a small frog jumped out. The blockage was cleared.

This morning, as I began watering, the can was once again clogged up. Not wanting to be startled by a frog jumping out at me, I slowly removed the sprinkler head from the can. As I lifted the head off the can there was nothing there. I looked inside the sprinkler head and the holes were clear. I then glanced down at the watering can and spotted this little frog sticking its head out.

“Oh, it is you I said,” while the little critter just sat there apparently not wanting to be disturbed (again).

I picked the watering can thinking it might hop out but instead it backed down into the neck of the can refusing to be evicted.

While my husband and I have great respect for wildlife we were not about to turn this watering can into a frog condo. Good watering cans have become quite costly. So, when I called my husband to tell him of this dilemma, he began planning an alternative housing situation for froggy.

He cut a hole in the side of this ice cream bucket, then placed the rock inside. He found this piece of tree bark that the little guy could use as a ramp and then he put water in the bottom of the bucket.

Getting the frog out of the watering can proved to be a bit challenging, but after gently poking it out of the neck of the can with a stick, pouring all the water out of the can, and shaking it upside down quite a bit the frog finally dropped out of the can.

My husband the placed it in its new digs and put the lid on to provide shade. Froggy is still free to come and go through the hole (door) in the side.

I placed the new frog house in the flower bed amongst the potted plants where it will not get too much sun.

I think it would be a lovely place to live if I were a frog.

Additional Note: I refilled my watering can this evening and left it inside our mudroom so froggy can’t return to it.

That Stinks!

Dogs, Frogs, Reflections, Skunks

Let me start by explaining that the photos of this tree frog hanging out on our deck railing have noting to do with the title of this post or the story that will follow. They were just some cool pictures that I took that really didn’t have a story and since this story didn’t really have any photos to go with it I decided to pair the two.

Isn’t he cute?

On With the Story

It was shortly after 4:00 A.M. when I was awakened by the sound of my husband frantically calling “Ranger, Ranger No!”. I heard the screen door close and again my husband’s command, “Ranger No!”

“What’s going On?” I called from the comfort of my bed.

“Ranger just got sprayed by a skunk.”

UGH!

In the few minutes it took me to get up and ready to help, my husband had already gathered the baking soda and peroxide and was getting Ranger in the bathtub. I gave him a towel to dry off the pup when he finished and spread a blanket on the floor for Ranger to roll on after his bath.

The smell of skunk permeated the house and my next task was trying to get rid of it. If you have never smelled skunk spray before I will try to describe it. Putrid is the best word I can think of. It will make your eyes water, your nostrils burn, give you a headache and will make you nauseated.

You may have guessed that this is not our first go around with de-skunking dogs. In fact we have had multiple skunk encounters with both Scout and Trooper falling victim. In most of the other occurrences we were largely able to keep the smell out of the house by bathing the boys before they came inside. This time that was not an option. This skunk was on our deck and was not in a hurry to go anywhere.

In order to get the smell out of the house the first thing I did was open some windows and put fans in a couple so they were blowing out. This didn’t seem to have any effect. Fortunately I remembered what I used a couple of years ago when Trooper got sprayed that did seem to help remove the odor from the house. It was a container of diatomaceous earth. This particular container has cinnamon oil infused in it because it is sold as a flea powder but since diatomaceous earth is said to absorb odors I decided to give it a try. I did not want to sprinkle it on the carpet because vacuuming it up can clog the filter and burn up the motor in a vacuum cleaner (it is best to use a shop vac if you do use it on the carpet). Thankfully it was not necessary to put it on the carpet. I only had to set the open container in the area when the odor was present, in this case the living room, and the odor began to fade away. Since the mud room also smelled of skunk I took a disposable cup and poured some of the diatomaceous earth into it. I then covered it with a paper towel and put a rubber band around it to hold the paper towel in place. I wanted it covered just in case it got tipped over. I placed it on the shelf in the mud room and again the smell began to fade away. By the end of the day the house was pretty much odor free.

As for Ranger, the peroxide and baking soda bath reduced the smell to a tolerable level but the smell lingered on him. It was about two weeks later when we took him to get his nails trimmed. After doing his nails the groomer used cotton balls with hydrogen peroxide on them to clean Ranger’s ears and wipe his eye lids and the corner of his eyes, while his eyes were closed. She also took a Q-tip with peroxide on it and cleaned inside the edge of nostrils. These were details that we missed and this really seemed to help.

There are a couple of other things that we have learned through these dog-skunk encounters. One is even when the odor seems to be completely gone it continues to lie in wait only to return the next time the dogs coat gets wet, and the next time, and the next time… It may actually take up to a year before the smell can no longer be detected on the wet dog.

The other is that getting sprayed by a skunk does not teach the dog a lesson. The next time he encounters a skunk curiosity will get the best of him or his instinct will take over. He will approach the skunk and this scenario will be repeated and THAT STINKS!

Frogs on the Farm

Frogs, Pond, spring, Strawberries, Tadpoles, The Farm, Toads, Uncategorized, ,

“Frogs on the Farm” was originally written and published on March 30, 2017, a time when I had very few readers. I have decided to share it again today because for various reasons I haven’t got my usual “Spring is Springing” post ready. Be assured that spring is here: the birds have returned from their winter homes, the trees are beginning to bud, the daffodils, iris’s, lily’s and even the garlic are emerging from underground and the frogs are singing. More on that soon. 🙂

Original Post published March 30, 2017

Last week on one of our sap cooking days, in addition to helping keep the fire going, I took on the secondary chore of raking the leaves out of the pond. As I came up with one rake full of leaves and shook them into the pile just beyond the beach, this frog hopped out of the leaves.

IMG_2362

I felt kind of guilty about awakening him or her, because I was yet to see or hear any frogs this spring. It did however spend a good deal of time sunning itself on the beach. It wasn’t until one of the chickens came running up behind it that it took a three foot leap back into the safety of the pond.

It was two days later that we heard the frogs for the first time this year. I remember my mom telling me, that her mom had told her, that after you hear frogs for the first time in the spring you will have three more freezes. Although I’m always excited to hear the frogs in the spring, I haven’t really tested this theory.

Frogs and toads lived on our farm before we put in the pond. I remember the first spring there were tadpoles that had hatched in a puddle of water and my husband was dumping buckets of water in the puddle to keep it from drying up before the tadpoles reached their adolescent stage of life.

Our property does provide the perfect habitat for frogs and toads. The pond offers conditions needed for frogs to lay eggs, for the eggs to hatch into tadpoles and for the tadpoles to live until they grow legs and their lungs develop so they can leave the water. This can take over a year for bull frogs. Even mature frogs, who can live out of water, continue to need a wet area to keep their skin from drying out. Not only does our farm have the pond but we have wooded areas where the ground is covered with dead leaves that keep the ground moist even in the hot and dry summer conditions.

According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources article that I have linked below of the more than 3400 species of frogs/toads only 13 live in Michigan. I am certain we have at least 4 species that populate our farm.

Frogs and toads are wonderful for pest control. The aforementioned article relates that a single frog will consume thousands of insects per year. Last year we discovered that we were reaping the benefits of this. As we picked our bountiful harvest of strawberries  https://donteatitsoap.com/2016/06/30/strawberries-at-last/ last June my husband and I spoke several times about the fact that we did not have any slugs eating the berries. This is a problem the we have had with strawberries we have grown at the house in the past. It wasn’t until my husband told me that he had been surprised by a frog hiding in the strawberry patch, while he was picking berries, that I realized that this frog was probably enjoying a regular diet of slugs and any other pests that threatened to consume our strawberry crop. I am hopeful that a frog will take up residence in the strawberry patch again this year.

Frogs are a good indicator of the health of wetlands, ponds, lakes and such as they do not survive in polluted areas. The Michigan DNR article that I have linked below explains that chemical fertilizers and pesticides are a threat to frog populations; not only can the chemicals kills frogs and toads, but the pesticides also reduce their food supply.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_12201-35089–,00.html

The frogs on our farm are also entertaining. In the summer time when we walk around the edge of the pond the frogs jump into the pond one right after the next. It’s kind of funny because there may be 50-100 frogs sitting around the outer edge of the pond. The dogs like to chase the frogs but rarely are they able to catch them. Last year Scout spent hours in the evenings looking for frogs along the edge of the pond, he enjoyed the search immensely even though he never caught any. After dark we are often treated to a campfire symphony, in surround sound I might add, as the several different species of frogs sing from different areas of the farm.

While not everyone has the luxury of being able to put a pond on their property I have included the following link for those who may be interested in creating a frog habitat. I would encourage you to read through the end of the article, as it does explain that the best way to introduce frogs to this habitat is to let them come to it naturally and this may take a year or more. It also explains that not all parts of the U.S. are favorable for creating frog habitats.

https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Gardening/Archives/2000/Want-to-Host-a-Garden-Party-for-Frogs.aspx