Retirement Travel and a Weird Mix of Other Stuff
I actually have quite a few more pictures to share, but it’s just too nice a day to squander it sitting here tied to the computer.
Instead, I’ll leave you with something to look forward to. 🙂
Happy Fall Sunday!
I bought some flowers yesterday that needed to be planted. In an attempt to beat the heat, I decided to get an early start. I went out to the shed at about 7:00 this morning to get some pots. That’s when I noticed what I thought was a mud wasp nest on the shed.
See it there by the lowest tip of the leaf?
Upon closer inspection, I realized the dark spot was an eyeball! I thought for a second that it was a small snake. Then I looked more closely and discovered much to my surprise and delight that it was a Gray Tree Frog.
I couldn’t just leave him there. I LOVE tree frogs. They are very cool and VERY hard to find. (I took this shot with a flash as I was back in the woods. That’s why he looks so pale. Although he was sitting on white wood, so he may have made himself pale on purpose.)
I knew as soon as I picked him up that it was a big one. What I didn’t know, until I started looking for a link to support this post is that it was very likely a record-sized Gray Tree Frog.
They are typically only 1.25 to 2 inches in size. The record size for a Gray Tree Frog in Maryland is 2.375 inches. This guy was at least that big. Maybe even a little bit longer.
I don’t know if it was a male or female. I’m just guessing male. Although in some frogs, females tend to be bigger than the males.
The coolest things about Gray Tree Frogs is their very docile nature. I had no problem picking this guy up. He just looked around as I carried him on my open palm toward the house.
I did hold my other hand over him as I carried him into the house (I had to show Hubby!). That was mainly to protect him if he decided to hop out of my hand. He never once tried to escape.
If you click on any of these images, a larger version will open up. See the little round things at the end of his toes? That’s his toe pads (how he climbs trees and stuff).
According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) web site, “Their coloration is normally grey or green, but is highly variable as they can change color depending on temperature, activities, mood and environment.” This is why they are so hard to find. They blend in REALLY well. And they’re nocturnal, so they normally only come out at night (I think I dragged this guy or gal out of bed).
I had flowers to plant, so I sat the frog on the edge of the birdbath. Look how he almost disappears thanks to his camoflague.
Yes, I took a lot of pictures. But one doesn’t get this opportunity often. The last time I saw a frog like this in the wild was about 10 years ago. And that isn’t because I haven’t looked. (I like that last image enough, I decided to post it here as FREE WALLPAPER. Feel free to download a copy for your own desktop if you like.)
The frog stayed on the birdbath for about an hour. It moved around a bit, but pretty much stayed there watching me. I was planting a few flowers in the small bed that surrounds the birdbath.
The longer he sat on the birdbath, the more I think his color was changing so he’d blend in better.
You can really see his toe pads well in that shot. He may even be smiling. And I didn’t even tell him to say “cheese.” Must be that ToadMama aura.
He’s definitely smiling in this picture. (I posted a large version of this one as FREE WALLPAPER, too. Feel free to download a copy for your own desktop if you like.)
Sorry to inundate you with frog pictures, but to a gal like me, this is an event. It doesn’t take a lot to amuse me…
There are lots of frogs like this out there, they’re just very hard to see. So how do I know that they are there? Because I can hear them.You know all those noises you hear at night that you assumed were insects? Quite a few of those noises are frogs (including toads, a very vocal group). Here’s what a GRAY TREE FROG sounds like. And here’s a COPE’S GRAY TREE FROG. These are only two of the nine different species of tree frog found in Maryland. You can learn more by following this Maryland DNR link.
I’ll try not to be so National Geographic-like with my next post.
I love walking with the dogs here at the WV place. They REALLY enjoy being able to run, sniff, cavort, roll in stinky stuff, etc. And I just like watching them and observing.
Today I thought I’d give you some random images of things that caught my eye. With little commentary. So you can enjoy your own bit of “quiet.”
I hope you enjoyed this quiet glimpse into my world.
What did you see in your world today?
Look what I found growing in the middle of Turkey Hollow Road! That tells you how much traffic we get back here.
I noticed something odd on my favorite burly tree yesterday. There’s little green things sprouting out of it. I thought maybe it might be a poison ivy/oak-type vine, but these little things appear to be sprouting right out of the bark.
Here’s something else I noticed. At first glance, it looked like some sort of alien growth. But I think it’s just the last remnants of the flower that appeared before the leaves sprouted. I didn’t notice the bug until I got home and looked at the picture. Do you see the bug? If you click on the picture a larger version will open up so you can get a closer look.
Wanna see the coolest shot of the day?
Are you ready?
We may not have a fence, but we have a Northern Fence Lizard. Actually, we have several. This one, who I dubbed Harold, lives in or near our block pile. He’s been around for a few years. Either that, or the block pile has been a favorite hangout for other Northern Fence Lizards.
There’s one that lives in the tree right outside our back door, too. When I went out to the truck to grab my phone charger yesterday morning, it was on the ground halfway between the tree and the house just looking at me. It was actually after I saw that one that I decided to check the block pile to see if Harold had returned.
I’d never noticed his blue underparts before.
Of course, me being me, I had to learn more about this lizard (including its name). According to an article I found on the Davidson College web site (thanks to Google), “This common lizard is one of North Carolina’s more conspicuous and familiar reptiles, deriving its common name from an earlier time when wooden fences were more common. Such structures are favored habitats for these quick and agile climbers, which are sometimes referred to by such names as “fence swifts,” “pine swifts” or “wood lizards.” For the full PDF article, CLICK HERE.
Apparently they are pretty common in West Virginia, too.
The girls are bugging the crap out of me ready for their morning walk. So I’d better run. But first, here’s one last look at my pal.
Isn’t he cool?
The older you get, the more you realize how important Mothers Day is to Moms. Especially Moms with long-empty nests who don’t get to see their families nearly as often as they would like.
Mike and I are very fortunate to have both of our Moms still with us. While we’ve spent quite a few Mothers’ Days in West Virginia in recent years, this year we stayed in Maryland. So we actually got to visit with both of our Moms yesterday. They were both happy to see us. Especially since we arrived bearing a card, flowers, and a gift for each. We haven’t done such a great job celebrating in years past because of the West Virginia place. So I’m glad we got to see them both yesterday.
And as promised in my Mothers’ Day post, I even made Hubby take pictures.
We stopped at my mother-in-law’s house first.
From there, we went to visit my Mom.
We didn’t get to visit for very long because we’d spent all morning planting flowers in our yard. (I do have pictures, but they are on my other camera.)
As for our kids, we only saw one of them yesterday. Of course, Shannon lives with us. For now. She’ll be moving to California at the end of this month. I haven’t said a whole lot about that here for a couple of reason, one of which is I’m just trying not to think about it.
Speaking of Shannon, look what she had delivered on Saturday. A whole box of chocolate-covered strawberries. Just for me. 🙂
The strawberries were delicious. I did share them with Hubby and Shannon, even though the card that came along with them specifically said NOT to share. Meg got some, too, but not because I wanted her to. (When I was eating the biggest strawberry, the chocolate cracked and fell onto the ground. Chocoholic Meg was on it quicker than I could even blink.) Amy called me. She spent the morning with her family having a picnic in the park. Eric sent me a text message.
Is it just my family or are greeting cards becoming a thing of the past? I always made sure both mothers and my grandmother got cards from Hubby and I on Mothers Day. When the kids were young, we got the mothers and grandmothers separate cards from the kids, too. I’m thinking the Internet/cell phone/text message age is making greeting cards obsolete. Which is a real shame. I know my Moms would have enjoyed cards from the grand kids, too.
On another note… I’m in West Virginia with the doggie girls. We’re having the kitchen cabinets at our Maryland house refaced. It’s easier holing up here with the dogs than having to deal with them for several days while trying to work with strange men going in and out of the house making all kinds of construction noises.
I snapped a few pics while out walking with the dogs just past the crack of dawn this morning (crazy morning bitches!). Look how green the trees have gotten.
A thick fog blanketed the valleys this morning. Isn’t it amazing to see how much the trees have filled in? Summer is most definitely just around the corner.
The trees are all very green and very full.
The Dogwood blossoms are definitely past their prime.
The Redbuds are completely finished blooming. Even if the pink is gone, I still get to enjoy them because of the heart-shaped leaves.
It should be an interesting, and quiet, week.
I hope all of the Moms I know had a happy Mothers’ Day. Don’t worry Dads, Fathers’ Day is just around the corner.
I may have started with “all is right in the world” except for one thing. We got word yesterday that my Dad’s oldest brother, Bob, passed away. We knew it was coming (based on other news we’d received earlier in the week), but it is still very sad. My heart is definitely heavy on this lovely Easter morning.
We’re at the WV Place (surprised?). We spent most of the day yesterday trying to finish up all the little projects hanging over our heads. Hubby did the last bit of drywall finishing because he got tired of hearing me whine about it. I started hanging the slate tiles on the half wall that flanks the kitchen. There’s one little spot remaining on that wall, and then there’s another little piece of wall to do. I’ll finish that today before heading back to MD.
Hubby made me a fabulous breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits. It was delicious. Isn’t it funny how food always tastes so much better when someone else cooks it for you?
All of my girls are waiting patiently for their morning stroll. And it’s such a nice day, I’m pretty anxious to get out there myself. But first, here are some very Spring pictures I captured yesterday…
(I hope you’re not tired of seeing the Redbuds yet!)
Here a a couple good pictures of the girls. (Post wouldn’t be complete without them!)
I hope you and your family have a lovely Easter.
