Frogs in the Flowerpots

Yesterday, while watering the potted plants, I had not one, not two, but three “make-me-jump” encounters with fully-grown Southern Leopard Frogs.   

The pots need watering every day due to the heat so it would seem I have made a nice amphibian hideout under the lantana leaves. Leopard frogs are great leapers whether they are the northern or southern species so it even freaked out the dog that was looking to get a drink from the hose.  There was practically a mid-air collision between Tuck’s nose and the flying frog!  They aren’t small frogs either, probably 8-9” when in full leap mode.  Neither Tuck nor I achieved the 3’ long leap they are capable of making either.  The gold clearly went to the frog.

I believe I have mentioned in many of these Texas blogs that there seems to be a lot of variation in the animal life that appears in summer and it all seems to hinge on the winter and spring rains.    

In the previous three years, cute, tiny, gray tree frogs often would ride along on top of my watering can.  Toads on the steps in the morning weren’t uncommon either, but these large frogs took me by surprise.  With my New England centric mind frogs belong on the ponds edge, or in the reeds along a marsh but not in a dry Texas yard.  Well, live and learn. 

Leopard frogs, both species, lay their eggs in shallow water but when   There, they are mostly nocturnal, staying cool and moist under a rock by day.  Well, it is bone dry under the rocks here, so any yard sporting flowerpots must be a good destination. 

summer comes, many of them head for the hills, the woods, or the fields where insect life is plentiful.

This past spring we had almost Biblical proportions of rain and I remember the night serenades of many a frog and toad.  Leopard frogs take 60- 90 days to go from egg to tadpole to frog so, amazingly, the creeks must have kept enough water to see them through their metamorphosis.  They lay their eggs in shallow water so I guess the rain fed creek must have been good enough.   Congratulations to these survivors though for when the rain stopped, it really stopped.

For that matter, we had our first rain in over 5 weeks just the other day.  When I walked the dog the next morning there was a sad amount of carnage on the road.   Unfortunately  rain draws many frogs and toads out to party on the cool roadways.  We are a small development with little traffic so I was surprised to see such a spattering of splatterings   Poor dears, good sized frogs too, “goin’ out a courtin’ “frogs.  I believe in these warm climates, any rainy time is a good time for some lovin’! 

This “On a dark and stormy night” sort of death is common all over the world and some places are kindly trying to alert drivers.  Not that there is much chance you will be able to see and then swerve to miss them, but still, it is the thought that counts.

Leopard frogs are fairly widespread throughout the eastern side of the US so it is likely you know them.  Some of the identifying characteristics of leopard frogs are a light spot in the middle of their tympanum (eardrum) the round spot you see to the side of their eye.  They come in variations of green or brown and they have these lovely two lines on either side of the body that look rather golden and have really impressive names-dorsolateral folds. 

 Also if you are of a certain age, and took any biology, this frog is probably the one you dissected: the one that reeked of formaldehyde that would often ruin your lunch if you, like me, happened to have said biology lab right before lunch.  Perhaps now they do virtual dissections.  I am sure the frogs would be happy if that were true.

Generally, leopard frogs will return to their water at the end of the summer.  If the El Nino comes through, maybe they will be able to do just that.  Otherwise, I had better treasure the year it was wet enough to rain frogs down on my flowerpots.

By the way, the picture of the frog in the flowerpot isn’t mine, they leapt away too fast for a picture, and although I have checked several times today, they have not chosen to return to the same pots.  Maybe the near collision with Tuck was too traumatic. The one of the frog in the flowerpot was from seabrookeleckie.com.  Thank you seabrooke, wherever you are, for helping me to illustrate a point.

I hope your summer has also provided you with close encounters of the amphibian kind.  It just wouldn’t seem like summer without them. 

Animals That Don't Break A Sweat

I was out watering plants that look like toast after our week absence.  Sweat was rolling into my eyes when a butterfly flitted by looking totally at home with the 102 degrees it was.  

 

A black beetle scooted by my feet, also looking nonplussed by the weather.  Well, of course they weren’t, not being warm blooded (homeothermic) as mammals and birds are, they literally don’t sweat the small stuff!  Cold blooded animals (poikilothermic ) as many of us know, must use their environment to cool down or warm up. I am sure that beetle would soon be heading under the mulch, where I must say it still must be 100 but that is within their range of tolerance.  These are Texas beetles after all, they wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t take it.

But how about those other mammals around you, most of them are using other methods than sweat to do the cool down trick.   If your body is covered in fur, than sweating under that would only make matters worse.  We all know our dogs pant to shed their heat to some degree, but they also sweat between the pads of their feet.  Cats have them too between their pads. Note the little wet cat or dog prints that are in the house when there is no rain without.  But here is something new I learned.  When your dog or cat is licking, licking and licking their legs, and you think, “Enough already, you’re clean!” they are really  just doing what your sweat glands do.  Putting moisture on top of their fur that then will cool down as it evaporates.  I never knew that.  I thought my dog had arthritis or some ache he was trying to ease.  Kangaroos lick their fore paws too. Should you find yourself in Australia in the presence of a licking kangaroo you will be well informed!

My squirrels are always sprawling on the railing of the deck, cooling off that underbelly, but they also claim that a curled tail over their back helps too.  The under part of the tail is light colored and so absorbs less heat than when the dark side is showing.  Which is why you will always see me dressed in beige and white the whole summer through, the equivalent of a squirrel with its tail turned up.

Being long and skinny as lizards and snakes are helps them with a more rapid heat exchange.  The shape allows them to cool down faster or warm up more quickly so it works for both extremes.  Cold blooded animals need far less input of energy to keep their cooler fires burning so no need to dash about all day capturing fly after fly, just lay low and chill out and you will indeed chill out. 

 

Birds have higher internal temperatures than you or I, more like 105 to our 98, so this weather must mean they feel the same on the inside as the out.  But they also have a higher rate of metabolism so you will see them doing their own form of panting on hot days, rapid respiration that dispels some of the heat.  Bare patches on their face, their legs etc. allow the heat to transfer more quickly and then, of course, how grateful they are when you provide a birdbath and shade trees. 

African elephants have huge veins in those large ears so all the flapping is to cool their blood down.  Jackrabbits with those long, almost transparent ears, are using a similar technique with the veins close to the surface shedding the excess heat.  Even whales living in a cool ocean have to overcome the insulating blubber when a fast paced swim has them heating up.  Their blood is shunted to large veins in the fluke where close contact with the water will work as their AC.

No end of diversity then in this manner of cooling off.  Shall we not mention that the vultures around here will urinate on their legs to get relief from the heat? No feathers there and you don’t see them at your birdbaths so, a birds gotta do what a birds gotta do. 

 It does seem, however, that I will be the only one out there mopping my brow unless, of course, I come in to write about it as I just have and ahhh, I am much more comfortable now.