Lucky's Pond: Patience, Grasshopper!

(10 points if you know where I got this quote, and no fair looking it up! :D)

One morning I went out to say hello to the gang and found this adorable baby sitting on the plywood ramp that leads to the lip of the pool. I was a bit horrified because this 1/4" munchkin still had his tail and was entirely too small in my opinion, to be hopping off into the wild blue yonder!! So after I took this picture, I gently urged him back into the pond to wait another day (or three please!) before he ventured out again! I was delighted when I saw this image though, it's one of the nicest pictures I've taken at Lucky's Pond! :D The translucence of his skin is wonderful to see and his brand new circular ear drum are clearly visible behind his eye! (As a tadpole develops into a frog, one of the amazing changes is the formation of these ear drums!)

Did you know that frogs hear through their ear drums AND their lungs?! WOW! Sounds cause their ear drums to vibrate, sending electrical pulses to their brain for interpretation. Sound waves that encounter their lungs are directed up through their ears and then to their brain. In this way, frogs are able to locate where a sound is coming from! Isn't that cool?! In a male frog, it is thought that the air link between their lungs and eardrums help to equalize the pressure caused when they make their calls, which can be almost as loud as jackhammers in some species! (90-95 decibals). Equalizing the pressure is essential to keep their ears from actually exploding from the build-up!

If you would like to know more about how frogs hear, there is a very nice page here: Animal Discovery: Frog Ears

More fun froggy facts tomorrow, along with another picture from Lucky's Pond! :)

By the way, I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too!

Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)