Category Archives: Toads

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?

From Eggs to Tadpoles

Reflections, Tadpoles, The Farm, Toad Eggs, Toads

In April, when I published this post about toad mating day, one of my readers asked what a nest of toad eggs looks like. I was able to describe them and send a link of a website that had pictures, but I never saw any nests of toad eggs to get pictures of.

Two weekends ago, May 6th and 7th, what I thought were frogs were loudly and proudly singing their mating song.

I wandered the edge of the pond until I found the “party”.

It was a two-day event.

I took some pictures on Saturday and more on Sunday.

On Monday the frogs were quiet. I went to the area of the pond where the “party” had taken place and discovered eggs. It wasn’t until I did a little research on the internet that I realized that these are toad eggs. The difference being that frog eggs are laid in a large cluster while toad eggs are in strings like beads. What I thought were frogs were really toads.

They may be a bit difficult to see in the photos but the eggs look like black strings under the water.

Closer up they look like tiny black beads enclosed in a clear gel-like tube.

I couldn’t even begin to guess how many toads laid all these eggs or how many tadpoles would emerge from them. It’s my understanding that these eggs could take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to hatch. It largely depends on the temperature of the water.

It was Friday, May 12, when they hatched.

These are probably the tiniest tadpoles I have ever seen. (Can you make out some of the tadpoles in the picture?) They were making their way to the beach area where the water is shallow and thus warmer.

It will now be two to three months before these little wigglers grow legs and lose their tales. That is when they will leave the pond and spend most of their lives on land.

Thanks for visiting.

Forsythia, Toads and a Jailbreak

Chicks, Forsythia, Reflections, Toads

Forsythia

When we pulled in the driveway at the farm this afternoon the first thing I noticed was the forsythia in full bloom.

The brilliant yellow flowers are noticeable from a great distance.

I always find them stunning – too beautiful not to share.

Jailbreak

The next thing I noticed was some of the chicks wandering around outside their pen. My husband had warned me that some of them had gotten out, so rather than spend a lot of time trying to catch them and put them back in he decided to open up the pen and let them all roam.

They have all stayed close to the coop throughout the day.

And seem to be having a great time exploring.

The chicks have not yet learned to get into the coop at night, but my husband used a trick we learned several years ago to round them up tonight. He placed a small (battery powered) light just inside the coop. As it got dark outside the chicks all migrated toward the light and went into the coop. He can use this method until the chicks figure out how to find their way in on their own.

Toads

As I stepped out of the van, I immediately heard the loud, high pitched, trill of the frogs, or was it toads? I remembered this sound from several years back when we witnessed hundreds of toads mating in our pond.

I eventually made my way to the pond and as I walked around the edge I was surprised to see only one toad sitting in the water near the edge.

The mating call continued on and off and as I returned to the pond edge a while later I noticed more toads had arrived.

I am not sure how long this mating ritual will continue or how many more toads might show up,

but I am certain that in a few days we will see nests of toad eggs along the edges of the pond.

Thanks for visiting.

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.

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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

Sights of Spring

Apple Blossoms, Bees, Killdeer, Lilacs, Pond, spring, Tadpoles, The Farm, Toads

This is the day the Lord has made…

I didn’t make it out to the farm until yesterday afternoon. As I walked past the prayer garden I and looked for the killdeer eggs this is what I saw.

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“They weren’t hatched this morning” my husband said.

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Both parents were near by screeching and doing the broken wing act to try to get us out of the area. I expect the babies will be running all around the area soon. I am happy that I can weed that side of the prayer garden now.

My husband’s main task for the day was cleaning frames from the bee hives. He first lets the bees do their part. He sets out the frames that still have honey and wax and lets the bees take what they want. Once they stop visiting a frame he finishes cleaning it before putting it back in a hive.

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As I walked around the farm I observed bees foraging amongst the apple blossoms. I made many attempts at photographing them. They were too busy to pose for a picture, so this was the best I got.

IMG_2573The bees were also collecting a lot of dandelion pollen. This lady stopped for a few seconds, so I was able to get a clear shot before she moved on.

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Last week we observed something that neither my husband, who has spent much of his life around ponds, creeks, rivers and lakes, or I have ever witnessed before. The toads had all made their way to this shallow grassy area of our pond and were mating there.

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There were too many to count and as we stood there watching more toads were arriving for the party.

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Yesterday as I walked by that area of the pond I noticed tiny black tadpoles apparently just hatching.

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We also spotted minnows swimming in the beach area.

For the past two years only one of our young lilac bushes has blossomed. When I mentioned this to my son-in-law last summer he suggested that I spread wood ash around them. Last fall I did spread wood ash around all of the lilac bushes and some of our apple trees as well.

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This year 10 of our 15 lilac bushes have blossoms.

Our apple trees also have more blossoms than they ever have before.

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Several years ago around just before Mother’s day my husband and I planted some trilliums in a wooded area of our farm. These were one of my mom’s favorite wild flowers, and we planted them as a tribute to mom who passed away the same year we bought our farm.

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Mom’s trilliums are beginning to bloom, appropriately, in time for Mother’s day.

Visitors are another common sight at the farm during the warm weather seasons, and it was good to have our first visitors of spring.

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Two of our daughters, Kara and Lindell, stopped by for a visit yesterday afternoon. They were dancing as they came up the driveway since my husband had a classic rock station playing on the radio.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24