Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Larry, Daryl & Darryl



 Good morning, friends!

As I was putting in my 2-miler this morning in my new 'walk-fit' tennies (which I LUV btw), I passed by the big pond at the bottom of the hill by my house.  The granddaddy bullfrogs were croaking away with their deep voices.  I think they were telling all the youngsters to get their bums up out of bed and that they were missing the best bugs of the day.  My thoughts immediately shifted to the small pond I built last spring off the corner of our deck.

On a beautiful 65 degree day late in March, I decided that I wanted more than my Angel Boy fountain by the front porch to feed my need of hearing trickling water.  We love this vintage fountain, and can hear it's soothing sound as we drift off to sleep every night.  It's amazing.  Anyway, since I once worked for a landscape company who specialized in water gardens, I gathered the materials and started digging.  



It took me just one day to complete....





....and it took only two days for the frogs to find it.


Where they came from remains a mystery to us.

Our first tenants were Larry and Daryl.  (yup, we named them.)  Then Darryl arrived.  (Remember Larry, Daryl and Darryl from the old "Newhart Show"?  They now have frogs named after them.) We really weren't expecting any additional newcomers and were very happy with our little trio.  But as summer arrived in full force, the trio decided they were having such a grand time, they invited Sam and his buddies to the pad (no pun intended).  There was soon a full all-out party going on out there morning, noon and night. THIRTEEN OF THEM! And every one of them had something to say when dusk fell.  Deep croaking bass tones mixed with the higher alto tones which blended beautifully to create what we fondly call the "Froggy Serenade". 


During the day, they all sit out on the rocks sunning themselves and hoping to nab a fly passing by or a bumblebee landing in the catmint nearby. But rainy nights is when the fun reeeally begins. The Frog Party moves to the driveway where they position themselves in various strategic places and wait --- for worms.  Now, for some odd reason unbeknownst to me, these worms feel the need to cross the pavement.  Why? Must be kinda like the riddle "Why did the chicken cross the road?"  Why DO worms stretch themselves out across the drive during rain, anyway?  Don't they know how gullible and exposed they are? Don't they hear the slap of little frogs' feet jumping ever closer?  Do they even HAVE ears...?  
 (If you've got any answers to those befuddling age-old questions, I'd love to hear them.)

The frogs become Hoover vacuums on steroids, sucking up one worm after another like professional Italian spaghetti slurpers.  My curiosity actually got the best of me one night and I found myself down on my knees nose to nose with Larry watching him slurp down his dinner.

I was amazed - but totally grossed out - at the same time.

By morning though, Larry would make sure all his buddies were back in their home pond, bellies looking like a bunch of little green Buddhas, full and happy.  We thought we heard them belch once..... (*wink)

Yup.  They're our boys!  
And, oh yes......we have a very clean driveway.
 ("Cleaning provided by 'Frog Patrol on Sterioids'".   Call us today to clean YOUR driveway!) 

And (sigh), we also know why the pond always turns green.



Hmmm...I wonder if I could teach them to use the outhouse.....


 Happy slurping!

~ Laurie

7 comments:

  1. Your blog is darling with all the little tweeks! How did you redo the header like that?
    I love your post today...so sweet.
    Hugs,
    Debbie@houseatthelake

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  2. Great title for your post...luv it! Lovin' your awesome fountain...I so want one!

    Blessings,
    linda

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  3. Thanks, Linda! I really hope that you do get your fountain. It adds so very much to a garden. And the birds absolutely love it!

    Blessings to you,

    Laurie

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  4. Oh-I love the sound of those old bullfrogs! We don't have any around here for some strange reason. Even when we were at our other house with the pond (I put in myself also-kindred sisters, aren't we...ok...ok...mine did not look NEARLY as good as yours does) Where was I? Oh...we never got any frogs there at all. We did put some huge goldfish in there and we believe the racoons got them. They were gone..the racoons were not...and no cats in the area. Either that or they were abducted by aliens...not sure...

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  5. Diana - Thanks for the sweet comment! It helps that I used to work for a landscape company, I guess!

    Racoons for sure, tho, friend. Ick! I'm afraid that they're after Larry, Daryl, and Darryl, too! Yikes! But they're the same reason I didn't put any goldfish in my pond. I couldn't bear the thought of 'my babies' being eaten by those darned things! Ugh!

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  6. I'm laughing, yes I remember Larry, Daryl, and Darryl. It's wonderful that the other brother Darryl decided to show up to make the group complete. :)

    I love your pond.

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  7. Oh Laurie... this is too much fun!... I am still browsing through your old posts and loved this one... you and I have soooo much in common I can't even believe it!... when we had our little farmhouse (before we sold and moved when greedy developers took over the surrounding countryside and took away our serenity)... we had some barn swallows build a nest on the beam above our porch... they had two babies and we named them DARRYL AND DARRYL! Love that you named your froggies that!... we name our hummingbirds that return each year, our blue jays, the squirrels... all of them!... I even have the EXACT vintage look green hummer feeder that you do!... I also love Newhart and still laugh at Larry, Darryl and Darryl in the re~runs!... xoxo Julie Marie (I think I would have made a good Stephanie!)...

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