Kiss me ...

... and I'll turn into a handsome prince : ) Isn't he cute? Of course, it could be a female, who knows? We saw about three of these little Wood Frogs in Cremona Bog yesterday, all of them very dark, so presumably they are Dark Phase/Dark Morph species? This little one allowed one of us (not me!) to hold him so that a few photos could be taken. I'd never seen a Dark Morph before - didn't even know there was such a thing. I'll try to remember to post a side shot of him eventually, to show the dark colour on his back. Wood Frogs are only 30 to 60 millimetres (about one to two inches) in length. Thanks, little guy, for helping us learn new things : )

"Coloration varies from pink-tan, gray, olive-green, various shades of brown, to almost black; whitish jaw stripe contrasts with a dark eye mask that extends from the nostril over the eye and just behind the ear; light dorsal stripe is frequently present" From fanweb.ca/resources-services/alberta-natural-history/amph...

Today was the third day in a row of all-day botanizing out of town (four all together this week). In other words, three long days of slow hiking, finding and recording every single plant, bird, insect, animal that we find. This means setting my alarms for 5:00 a.m. or 5:30 a.m., and getting home somewhere around maybe 6:00 p.m.. So much fresh air and exercise, plus constantly getting down on my knees to photograph something totally knocks me out - even more so, if it happens to be a hot day. Today was very pleasant, not too hot, thank goodness. It was spent on Plateau Mountain, south of the city and south of Highway 40, turning south when you reach Highwood House. A long drive to get there, but what a magnificent place. Tons of beautiful wildflowers on the grassy slopes.

The following link goes to a short, fascinating video on YouTube, about how Wood Frogs freeze solid in the winter.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjr3A_kfspM