Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: camoflauge

(If you want to know about Lucky, please visit this picture and read the story! :) My Friend Lucky When I took this picture, I thought I was looking at a froglet sitting on a rock, counting the evening stars in contented bliss. But when I looked at the picture on my computer, I laughed in glee when I discovered the truth! That little froglet isn't sitting on a rock, he's sitting on top of another froglet!! Best of all, they both look very comfortable and happy being in a froglet pile! Awwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! :D Did you know that Pacific Tree Frogs are the only frogs that make the exact sound, "ribbit"? All other frogs make different sounds, not quite like the Pacific Tree Frog. Only male frogs can sing, and most frog species make their calls by forcing air into their vocal sac, which blows up into like a balloon! The air vibrates over the larynx and resonates inside the large, air-filled sac! (There are a few kinds of frogs who sing without vocal sacs) The song of the Pacific Tree Frog can be heard up to half a mile away on a quiet night! Last year Steve and I got a sound-capture of the frogs singing at the pond and you will love hearing them singing for love! If you would like to know more about frog vocal sacs, Wiki has a very nice page about it here: Wiki: Frog Vocal Sac 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! :)

(If you want to know about Lucky, please visit this picture and read the story! :) My Friend Lucky Oh, liittle froglet...I seeeee youuuuu!!! Isn't it amazing how well this little guy blends in with the rock he's on? It doesn't hurt that his skin is very translucent--his toes are almost completely transparent! Pacific Tree Frogs come in many shades of green and brown and have the ability to change their color over the course of hours, days or weeks. In fact, I have a fun story to share about this! We have an upstairs deck outside our bedroom where we grow our tomato plants. Every year frogs find their way up to the deck where they have access to water, cool shade, and a steady stream of insects to eat which come to visit the plants. A couple of nights ago it was really hot so we opened the door to cool off the bedroom. Later we went into our game room before bed and I was busy replying to comments when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I looked down to the floor and to my surprise, I saw a Pacific Tree Frog! It was the pale beige color of our carpet and looked very confused. I was amazed! This frog hopped through the back door, through the bedroom, down the hall, turned right and went down the hall, turned left and hopped into the game room, turned right and finally ended up in my field of view! I can hardly believe it!! This frog would have certainly died except that it travelled all that way, where I found it--or rather, it found Mama Frog! I scooped it up, brought it into the bathroom and washed off all the dog hair it managed to collect along the way and after it squirted out of my grasp a couple of times, I managed to get it downstairs and out into the cool foliage in our front yard. Wow, I wonder if that was Lucky's mom or dad?! That was one extremely lucky froggy!! :D 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! :)

Here are a couple of froglets relaxing on a rock and enjoying a lazy day in the pond. It's been 19 days now since I brought the crew up to the new pond under the Oak tree, and so much has happened. Dozens of tadpoles have turned into little froglets, slowly losing their tails and then climbing up the side of the pool and hopping off to seek their fortune! I water the area around the pool every couple of days so it's not quite as dry, but their froggy senses should direct them to the cool shade under the plants 20 feet away by the side of our house. There is a dripping faucet there and water for the animals that stop by. (There are also ramps to get back up to the pool.) In the pond, there are still countless tadpoles, many of which still don't have any legs yet! A few froglets have stayed around and are growing larger with each passing day. I've found full-grown Pacific Tree Frogs visiting the pond at night, and lots of insects and spiders have been hanging around too. It's become quite an oasis for the little creatures in the area, but we do keep a screen over the top because a single thirsty deer could drain the entire pond, which would be a disaster. In short, Lucky's Pond is a total success! Steve and I are planning to make a permanent pond here so there will always be a sanctuary for the late tadpoles every year and a new place to live year-round! :) More fun froggy facts tomorrow, along with another picture from Lucky's Pond! :)

I've discovered that froglets have a great sense of style! Just take a look at this cutie pie, who's wearing the latest in natural froggy fashion decor, positioned at a jaunty angle for maximum effect! This little guy is sure to be the talk of the pond, and I'm sure that tomorrow all the froglets will be showing off their very own fashion statements! :D Do you know the differences between a frog and a toad? The first thing to know is that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads! :D ☻ Frogs have long hind legs for jumping and swimming; toads have short legs for walking. ☻ Frogs are more slender and long; toads are more squat and chunky. ☻ Frogs have smooth, moist ("slimy") skin; toads have dry, wart-covered skin. ☻Frogs usually prefer wet climates with easy access to water; toads usually prefer drier climates. ☻ Frogs usually lay eggs in clusters; toads usually lay eggs in long chains. ☻ Frogs do not have poison glands behind their eyes; toads do. (Animals seem to know that toads are poisonous--our dogs smell toads but that's it!) To make things confusing, there are a few species that have characteristics of both frogs and toads!

Here's another picture from Lucky's Pond that I took a while back. It's been three months now since I rescued the tadpoles from our seasonal pond, and nearly all of my little friends have grown up and hopped away. Yet, there are still a few who refuse to grow up and don't even have legs yet! This happens sometimes when a tadpole stops its transformation to frog, but this usually happens if it's getting too cold, so I'm not really sure why they stopped their metamorphosis. When the days get close to freezing, I'll gather up the last of the babies into a bucket and bring them inside. I thought about putting a heater in the water but the pool is plastic and there are already problems with leaking and this will give me the chance to fix the pond and hopefully build a better, more permanent home for them. By the way, you should see all the froggies everywhere! Steve and I laugh when we find them because we know most are from Lucky's Pond! They gather around the hose on our upper deck (how they know to climb up there, I couldn't tell you!), they find their way into our shop and arrange themselves on the sink, wall, and faucet, and we find them hopping around on the floor there too! What fun to know that I helped to raise so many of these happy little hoppers! :) :)