Bullfrog Revisited

College kid caught the bullfrog!! I can't believe he did it. He is so fast, I guess years of skateboarding have given him good reflexes. We had been out cleaning the pool, vacuuming and scooping out leaves and such.

Dh had scooped up a net-full of leaves, and when he dumped it, out hopped this big black thing right towards him! The poor guy was too startled to do anything, (and no-one else was anywhere near close enough) so back in the murky water went our bullfrog.

We decided to call it quits a while later, due to dwindling daylight, and lightning. We poured in 6 jugs of chlorine, then college kid resumed trimming bushes. We noticed the frog popping up frequently, I assume to try and get out of the chemicals. College kid noted his movement, and waited like a hungry heron with his 10' pool pole and net. Up came frogger, and down came net! We had us a bullfrog!!

College kid immediately dunked him in some fresh water to remove the chlorine. He was so gentle with his little buddy. I noticed frogger wasn't black like I thought, more like a dark green. (similar to an alligator, actually) His belly is such a pretty mottled grey. He wasn't nearly as heavy as I expected either. He was really calm as we held him and admired his beauty. Doing some research, we've learned that bullfrogs are the largest frogs in N. America. They can eat birds, snakes, and other frogs. Our little buddy was 11" long, stretched out.


It was late by this point, so we had to decide what to do with the guy for the night. A ten gallon aquarium wasn't going to work, and everyone nixed the idea of the bathtub. So we put him in a large dog crate with as much water as it would hold. (a surprising amount)

This afternoon, we took him to the lake and released him. He'll have lots of friends, food, and natural vegetation. Perhaps he will contribute to future generations of froggers. It's a bittersweet time for me. I'm glad he's out of the pool. I didn't mind him, wasn't afraid or anything. But the chemicals we have to dump in there aren't good for him. So I'm glad he's away from that. But I miss him, miss looking out my bedroom window to see him sitting in the skimmer, or on the top step of the ladder. I miss wondering when the next time is he'll pop up to see us.

Still, it's for the best. He is a wild animal, and needs to be in his natural environment. Best of luck out there, Frogger. Thank you for all the fun, excitement, and stories you gave us.

God Bless,
Chela

Music

This is one of the neatest things I have ever seen. At first glance, it looks like a simple cabinet, perhaps from a grocery store. Nothing fancy there. However, if curiosity gets the better of you, and you put your hand in the empty space inside it, it plays music! So what can this be?

An Infrared Harp! It has infrared light beams running up and down across the harp. When your interrupt the beam, the computer senses this and causes music to play. Of course infrared light is not visible to humans, so we see an empty cabinet. There are high and low notes to play with as well. I couldn't stay away from this at the science museum, it was my absolute favorite thing ever!

Chela

Ferrets

Someone on an internet forum asked why they shouldn't get a ferret. I did my best to talk them out of it. I just wanted to let the poster know what they were getting into!

ferrets, ferrets, ferrets. I don't even know where to start. They steal things. Lots of things, and stash them in your furniture. Things like coins, keys, leather, FOOD!! Ours was very much into stealing food, crackers, cookies, pop tarts, an entire sleeve of them. Oatmeal cream pies, you name it, she stole it. A friend of mine had 7, and would take them to work with him. They put their heads together, and stole 10 York Peppermint patties from the counter, and stashed them under the couch.

Ferrets can get into ANYTHING! Like potted plants? Forget it! They can climb up to them, and will dig all the dirt out all over the floor. Like your cupboards and drawers neat and tidy? What if you opened your silverware drawer to find a sleeping ferret? Like to sleep? If your ferret hides so well you can't find her, (even my dog was fooled quite a few times), she will want to play at 3 am. Nothing like waking up to a ferret nose in your ear.

They can easily slip out the door, and go un-noticed for hours. It's a lot of work and stress trying to find a ferret outside. They require a lot of people time, especially if you only get one. Our ferret quickly learned that the ferret war dance gained her fruit loops. She was always attacking our feet. If you get multiple ferrets, they put their little weasel heads together, and cause double the mischief. They also only have two speeds-full steam ahead, and sleep. Full steam ahead? They don't want to be held, there is trouble to be had!

But mostly, they will steal your heart, and never give it back. They simply don't live long enough.

Remembering a great rooster

Most people have the same reaction when you mention a rooster. They think they are mean, dirty, noisy little devils that will attack you with no warning. I felt the same way, until I met Goober. We saved him from an untimely death after he trespassed to scratch up a flower bed. We almost didn't keep him, we didn't need another rooster! But keep him we did, and never regretted it.

Roosters will dip their wings to court a hen. They dip a wing, and dance for her. It's quite an impressive sight, unless you're the object of a rooster's affection. The next step he'll take is to start spurring you, and that hurts! Almost every rooster I've ever met has eventually dipped his wing at me. I've been spurred more times than I like to count. But Goober never dipped his wing to a person. He never thought about doing a courting dance to us, and he never spurred. Even young children, who roosters see as easy targets, never had to worry about him.

We got to the point where we stopped worrying about Goober, and really trusted him. He was just amazing. There was frequent conversation regarding Goober, and his personality. We were so lucky he was gentle, because he was so big!

If you can imagine this beautiful red rooster wandering around the farm yard, grumbling up a storm. And grumble he did! About everything! He wanted corn, he wanted his girls, he liked to grumble! It was a delightful part of his personality.

I'd like to say Goober loved us, but it may have been that we were keepers of the kibble. Goober always met us at the gate, and followed us around as we did our chores. He loved his corn, and his sunflower seeds. Around food came his only aggressive tendencies. He'd get along okay with his buddy Flyer, but would chase him away from the food. He wasn't aggressive towards us with his food, though.

When we let the hens out to free-range in the yard, Goober would get so excited! He would do his happy dance, and dip his wing to all the ladies. He watched over them so well. Any predators flew over, and he would issue a warning growl to tell the hens to take cover. If there was a disturbance in the yard, Goober would run over to see what was going on, and if it needed his assistance. He didn't miss anything.

Goober's hens lived in a separate coop with their own roosters. We let the hens out during the day, and put them back up at night. Goober slept in a separate area. We'd call all the hens in, and Goober would come in with them. He didn't want us to see him, so he'd hide in the cabinet in the pen. As big as Goober was, it wasn't hard to see him, really, but he always tried. When we shooed him out, he'd grumble all the way.

Goober was definitely one in a million as far as roosters go. I don't think I'll ever meet one as gentle and as full of personality as he was. I'll never forget running my fingers through his tail feathers, watching him free range in the yard with his hens, or hearing him grumble. Your spirit will live on, Goober, thank you for taking care of us. We'll miss you.