Wednesday, October 12, 2005
How Many Eyes?
When T.J. our old cat was still alive he got so big that a standard litter box didn’t allow him to crawl completely into it. We hunted for a while for a container big enough and ended up buying a busboy’s container. When when we lost T.J. the big litter box was relegated to the basement because Molly could use a regular size one. So for the next couple of years the container was kicked around the basement , then into the garage, and eventually outside the garage beside the driveway. Birdseed would fall out of the feeder on the deck above and then I started picking up scrap pieces of wood and throwing them in the box.
As Spring turned into summer water accumulated in the box. One day when I was down there I was going to dump the water when I noticed a pair of eyes popping up around the wood. So I decided that if something had made the box it’s home I would leave it be. Through the summer every once in a while I would check to see if the eyes were still there.
Then a few days ago I saw frost in the windshield one morning. I had all ready moved my plants in but my frog was stiil in the box outside. Jay asked if the frog was still in residence and I said it looked like there might be two in there. Keep in mind that the water was almost green by now and it was hard to see the contents of the box. Jay said we will soon have to move them out to the pond for the winter.
Well this afternoon I was down at the garage and remembered my frogs. I couldn’t lift the box up onto the tailgate of the truck to drive to the pond. So I decided to dump part of the water then fill a small plastic bucket with the rest and the frogs. Two frogs plopped into the bucket but I could see more in the box. That meant getting rid of more water to make room to pour the other frogs in. Two more frogs jumped out, landed on the ground, and made for the wood embankment at the side of the drive.
Picture an old lady bending over scampering frogs trying to catch them by hand. Yeah right! I finally pick up the bucket lid and a piece of wood and herded the frogs one at a time up on the lid and into the bucket. Then checking the box again I spotted two more frogs in the bottom. I dumped the last two into the bucket and placed it on the tailgate. Out to the pond in the backyard And dump everyone out as close to the water as possible.
OK Momma Nature I did my part , your job is to take care of them now.
