This morning as I opened my car door for my weekly trip to town, there was a small leopard frog hanging onto edge of the opening! He was in that space between the inside of the car and the outer shell. He must have been partly on my door, as he was over the edge, partly on the outside, as if the door had pulled him partly out when I opened it.

I nudged him into my left hand, and he didn’t seem to mind being there at all. He showed no fear and made no attempt to escape, and since he was so cute, I decided to take him inside and show him to my boys before I released him. But just as I opened the door into the house, after entering our enclosed front porch and shutting the outer door behind me, he urinated. Now, this was not a sudden puddle in my hand, this was a stream of liquid squirting forcefully in my direction! Needless to say, I was startled, but the reacting jerk did not save me from being hit, but it did send Mr. Froggy flying!

He sat where he landed, so I left him there while I went to the kitchen for a paper towel to wipe my upper arm. My sons, having heard my exclamation “you rascal!” came to see what was happening, without my even needing to call them.

Of course, the next order of business was to pick up the frog and get him back outside. But I suppose after the trauma of being flung through the air, he had decided that he was not going to let me pick him up again! I had quite a job chasing him around the porch until I finally caught him, but then he again stayed calmly in my hand, and I had a job to get him to hop off when I got him outside!

Later, in town, as I finished unloading my shopping cart at Wal-Mart, I noticed another leopard frog clinging to the cart, just under the basket. This one was only about half the size of the first one, maybe about 2 inches from nose to tail. I didn’t want to leave him there, where he might get run over as he wandered around the parking lot, so I nudged him into my hand. This little fellow did not appreciate my efforts one bit, and did his best to escape! But fortunately, he was tiny enough to keep closed into one had without too much effort, despite all of his pushing to get out. I carried him over to the grassy area off the parking lot at the far end of the store from where the most traffic is, and let him go. He didn’t stick around to say good-bye, and I lost sight of him in no time.

------------------
The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

I loved the frog story. Our most common frog around here is a green tree frog. I have found them so small they are less than the size of my little finger-nail - and then they also get huge - 3-4 inches body length NOT stetched out jumping! Some Aussie houses are built very open to get as much air as possible through them but mine is not like that - it is well sealed! So how do the frogs get inside??**?? A favorite place for a green frog is just under the rim of the toilet! And it is impossible to just flush them out. Fortunately I haven't had many there. It is a bit 'yuck'! The last one I had there disappeared as soon as it heard or saw me - then popped up when not expected! Finally I crept in extremely quietly and it was up on the seat. A towel thrown over them is an excellent way to catch them and NOT touch them. But the worst of the lot is the occasional one I have had drop on my bed in the middle of the night. Quite a surprise to wake to the feel of a frog dropping with a 'plop' right next to you! The scientists say frogs are a good indicator of the health of the surrounding eco-system. Mine must be great!

You have a problem with touching frogs, Mikk? How about snakes? I pick them up too.

In fact, I have 3 photos of one that was on my back doorstep when I went outside to spray my gardening clothes with insect repellent, in preparation for going out. The entire time I was spraying my clothes, the snake just lay there, totally undisturbed, only inches from my feet. I couldn't resist - I just had to get a picture. So I went as quickly as I could and got my camera, just as it was, without taking any time to change the lens to a better one.

As soon as it became obvious to the snake that my attention was totally on it, it immediately was alert, rising up and smelling me out with its tongue. (Were you aware that snakes' olfactory organs [sense of smell] are located on their tongues? That is the reason they run their tongues out the way they do.) I only got 2 quick shots before it turned around and started to escape. I got one more before it disappeared into the tall grass next to the step.

I don't know what kind of snake it was, possibly a black snake, but I do know that we have no poisonous snakes anywhere near our house. The only ones in our state are rattlesnakes, and they don't live right around here. There is quite a good sized colony of them 4 or 5 miles from our place though, and they encounter them constantly in their yard & garden. At least they happen to be the smallest and least poisonous rattlesnake variety in existence. Only the smallest or weakest members of the human race need fear death at its bite.

So I have no need to be cautious of any of the snakes I meet in my outdoor experiences. I know that is probably not the case where you live. I hear that Australia is the home of the most poisonous spider in the world - the funnelweb - which is also one of the most aggressive. Some of these things I hear lead me to conclude that I definitely would not want to live in Australia!

My own part of the world has its flaws and unpleasant points, one of the worst being the huge quantities of mosquitoes that our numerous wetlands encourage, and that carry a deadly disease - Eastern equine encephalitis. But I don't think there is any place in the world that is truly perfect, so I live with what I have, and am thankful for its good points.

------------------
The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited September 07, 2001).]

No Cathy - I don't mind picking up frogs but they go so fast and so far that sometimes there is only one chance to catch them! So the quickest is to drop a piece of towel over them and then carefully take them outside and put them somewhere safe. I rather like them - but not in my house!!!! As for snakes - MAYBE I would have a different attitude to them if most were not poisonous - but over here they are! The most common ones around here are the red-bellied black (very poisonous and I commonly see them 6-8 feet in length) and the king brown (very aggressive as well as very poisonous.) The king brown has been known to chase a person in certain conditions! I don't know enough about snakes to know WHAT conditions! Walking in the bush around here is a matter of constant vigilance - in the summer especially. I have always taken a dog with me when I walk in the bush but I got an Australian breed of dog 2 years ago - a red cattle dog - and he knows about snakes instinctively. I think he smells them first - then hears and sees them. I've seen him running along and stop as if he's run into a wall - then the next moment a big snake will move out ahead of him. Very useful indeed, and very assuring since his senses are so much better than mine.
Oh how nice heaven will be without the things that bite and sting and kill.!

That was really funny, and well written! Frogs have a unique defense mechanism!