This is going to sound like a Tall Tale but I swear it is true. Yesterday morning began as an ordinary day. I milked Daisy the cow. Then Queenie Wineti convinced me that the cows should be allowed out on the greening grass for a bit. Daisy has been schooling her in the Intense Look. It works.
The grass is growing.. really growing. Beautiful. But not tall enough for these big mouths yet so only a few hours at a time. 
Only we can look at a lovely pile of cow poo and think – fertiliser, exciting stuff! I fed the chickens, and ‘Get Fat Right Now’ -Big Bobby, the steer and Hairy MacLairy, the ram. Looked for the lost cat, still no sign of him.
Mama and Minty were told – No it is neither hot nor Winter, you are not coming into the barn!
I fed the Baby Bobby and then the Shush Sisters. And Charlotte that is not your best side. 
Camera who was behaving badly in my left hand the whole time.
While walking with the dogs down the back I passed the long puddle in the drive and there was a tiny bright green and yellow frog sat in there. I told Ton to go Down, which he did, then slowly I went down too so as to get a shot of this funny looking little frog in a big puddle. Lucky Mary’s Cat is on Walkabout, I said to the frog. This little frog went into a spasm of leaping, jumping and springing around and around. No way I could focus on him. His behaviour was quite manic and almost circular. Then suddenly he came to a halt right in front of me, his legs spread out behind him, then he swam slowly towards my eye in the camera, he lifted his head up out of the puddle and I stopped breathing preparing to take the shot. His little black eye caught my eye through the viewfinder. Then he opened his mouth into the perfect parody of a wide mouth frog and he cried out to me. eeeeee eeeee. eeeee eeeee.
It was an other worldly sound. Tinny, tiny, a thin reed of a scream. I cannot describe it. Put your head right back. Screw your face up and close your throat, stretch you mouth out really wide, then force a little air and sound right through the back of your closed throat. Make a flat high E sound… eeee -as high as you can go. Now do it again. This is what I heard. A desperate strangled cry. But pointed, aimed directly at me. Do Frogs cry. This little frog was crying with terror. The frog cried out to me. I have never heard anything like it. Why did he do that? Why did he call out? Why didn’t he just bounce away. Then he just froze and waited. Everything was silent.
I put Camera down by my downed dog. Crept forward and carefully picked up the little frog and rising with him I carried him to the frog garden. In my cupped hands he only moved to stretch once and reposition his muscly legs. Otherwise he was quite still. Do frogs play possum or was it almost dead I thought.
There you are, I said, as I opened my hands to make a ramp. He hopped slowly in under the frog garden board walk. Plop. And was gone.
This is the only shot Camera gave me, but you can see his little eye watching as he swam through the puddle towards me.
A very strange messenger frog.
Yet it was an oddly satisfying encounter. 
The dogs and I proceeded on our walk looking for Mary’s Cat and I noticed that the bees were holding hands in the early morning. I don’t know why. Yesterday morning was full of mysteries.
Good morning. It is still dark. Almost 6 am and quite dark. But our day begins anyway.
Have a lovely day. Watch out for puddles.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
86 responses to “Frogs cry”
Frogs do have distress calls that are completely different from their mating/territorial calls. They tend to be very alarming and loud just to let everyone in the neighborhood know that something is going down.
I have heard those loud calls, but this guy had the tiniest highest alarm call i have ever heard, mind you if i had not been inches away from him i would not have heard it anyway.. so probably they have been amongst the din all the time!.. c
I’m used to the raucous din caused by the tiny mating frogs in the nearby pond, but I’ve never heard the scream. Extraordinary shot of the bees. We’ve been very short of bees in our garden this year.
The bees holding hands was pretty cool. Though I would like to know why they were doing that on the outside of their hive.. c
I wonder what the frog was thinking – i.e. did it get very lucky or very unlucky to happen upon you haha?
I think it was terrified, I know frogs are not cognitive but it honestly appeared like he came closer to me to try and call out something.. c
I think frogs do play possum, but I’ve never heard that kind of sound! Of course, I’ve not been that close to a frog since I was 8 years old.
Morning Eva, after all that rain we have a lot of frogs around.. everything is rowdier again.. c
That is the clearest, cleanest puddle water I’ve ever seen! Around these parts, puddles red clay cloudy… Maybe the frog was saying, “I took a walkabout myself and now I’m SO FAR from my home in the frog garden! Help!”
Being on the drive it is all stones, it is everyones favourite puddle.. c
Crazy. 🙂
You are right.. life is crazy! love it.. c
Loved the story… can’t help with the frogs behavior… your grass sure looks delicious with clovers and all in-between, you cattle must love it in their…
The cows do love it, they get all weepy if i take them onto the concrete! c
Why I think this wee froggy was indeed a messenger. One of luck and love and who knows maybe he ran into Mary’s cat and was delivering a dance of sorts to you.
He was certainly dancing.. it was a strange encounter.. morning chris.. c
So cool, your frog story Celi! And no doubt it is delighted to be in a beautiful garden it can call it’s own!!!
Actually, I’m crazy about frogs, as my nickname is ‘Frogbaby’. I had the large, smiling mouth of a frog on the head of a tiny baby when young. Actually, you can see the early Frog face on my FB profile I just changed as we found lots of old pictures going through Mom’s house last month. It will give you a giggle! xo
Oh that does ring a bell, I must pop over and have a look so nice to have you back in the comments lounge,.. c
What an extraordinary experience, Celi.
Morning Sharyn.. c
Another mystery to add to that of the disappearing Mary’s Cat. Mysteries are often solved, you know.
I hope we get some of them solved, yesterday was an odd kind of day.. morning audrey.. c
Several years ago, one of our hens caught a frog. The sream was child-like. Horrible.
Christine.
That would be horrible.. c
This frog was clearly a link between two life forms, and the sound it made was an attempt to communicate through whichever one you responded to. He was saying, “Take me to your leader!”
Morning Ronnie.. I AM the leader so he was in the right place. (laughter!).. c
Awww.. he probably said, “my life is in your hands, c”.. what a plaintiff sound!! Only you could have a frog garden.. how wonderful your farmy is!!
The frog garden has that little underground pond in it, it has piles of noisy inhabitants at the moment.. c
Very strange, but so compellingly recounted. I liked the dirty pig pic!
They were terribly filthy yesterday, mud mud mud! A pigs life! c