frogs

As we will be away for a while, I thought of taking stock of our garden this morning. Here is a frog rescued from the swimming pool:

The Hairy Golden Orb-weaver spider is still standing guard over the front path. If anything, its web is even larger than before. I caught it in the midst of its breakfast:

Moving towards a shady part of the garden, my eyes lit up at the sight of a few Crocosmia blossoms:

The carpet of moss under the trees is doing well, especially after a light shower of rain yesterday:

Even though something has been attacking the zinnia plants growing in a pot, I was pleased to see this bud a day or two ago:

Which, by today, had opened to reveal the beauty within:

I was pruning back the vegetation threatening to engulf the aloes this morning when my attention was drawn to an unusual frog swimming in our pool. It had noticeable stripes and sported particularly long legs.

C rushed home to get her chart of Eastern Cape frogs from which we easily identified it as a Striped Stream Frog. It was scooped out of the salty water and, having given a whopping long jump, was ‘pinned’ down on the grass by the net of the scoop and dowsed with fresh water while I rushed indoors for my camera.

The invaluable A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Southern Africa by Louis du Preez and Vincent Carruthers provided more interesting information about its natural habitat: open grassy areas near dams, ponds or streams in forest, thicket, grassland and savanna. It also occurs in parks and gardens and are – as we have discovered – agile jumpers.