Welcome To Froggie’s Pad
Welcome kids to
Froggie-Ville! Let’s start by
saying I love frogs and well, frogs seem to love me too.
Maybe it’s because I watch them from a distance and try not to disturb
them. Let’s begin our story
here…one rainy day in Sacramento, California in an old chicken-coop by a
nearby pond I came across a rather large bullfrog.
As we know frogs need both land and water to live.
This bullfrog jumped out right in front of me and startled me to say the
least. I never expected to see such a large frog and in a
chicken-coop, no less. A chicken or
an egg maybe, but a huge bullfrog, no way!
I watched him and almost wanted to pick him up as he glared at me with
his big bulging eyes and brownish green body.
Frogs can change the colors of their skins depending on their
surroundings. His brownish green
color may have been to make him less visible in the old chicken-coop.
His big bulging eyes were on top of his head so he can see in almost any
direction and breathe when his body is under water. He must have found an abundance of bugs and worms to eat
because this bullfrog was huge! In
fact he is the biggest frog I have ever seen outside or anywhere for that
matter. His croak was as loud and
deep as his size. Froggie’s are
usually cheerful little critters as no one “bugs” them. (Get it?) They are quite a sight to watch as they hop about the earth.
Frogs are slimy to the touch and are great swimmers too.
You can sometimes find them out of the water resting on their “Froggie
Pads” or lily pads. If you are a
frog fan like me, you can probably see them live at pet stores but they are a
little difficult to take care of and you need to learn a lot about them first. They eat live insects and worms and usually survive longer in
the wild and in their natural habitat. It
is fun to go looking for them, with an adult of course, and you will usually
come across so much more. The world
is filled with interesting creatures like bugs, spiders, worms, frogs, birds,
large and small animals, plants etc. The
world is constantly moving with all these creatures crawling about busy with
their daily activities just like us. I
have to wonder now if I went to the pond if I would come across a chicken.
Well I figured if a frog is in a chicken-coop then maybe a chicken could
be on a lily pad. What
are the odds? Probably not good as
the chicken prefers to be on dry ground and might be to heavy for the small lily
pad. Plus if the chicken laid an
egg, it would sink in the pond water and I really like eggs. Everything has its place and reason on this earth.
The frog eats worms and bugs to help control the buggie population.
We all love chicken’s eggs for breakfast, right?
It’s amazing how many eggs a chicken can lay if you really think about
it. Every living thing on this
earth has a purpose for being here and we can observe them, learn from them and
heal ourselves in the process. The
planet is big enough for all of us and we need to share it with respect for all
living things. They are not here to
hurt us and we are not here to hurt them. So
please watch them, enjoy them, share stories with others about them and be
“critter friendly” and “earth friendly.”
Kids, where can you make a difference in your environment?
What might you suggest to other kids to help them understand on how to
help conserve our creature’s natural habitats?
Maybe if they are going to pick up a frog, you might ask them to hold it
near the ground so it doesn’t have to far to fall when it jumps out of their
hands. You might mention to handle
the animals gently, respectfully, and carefully if they do handle them.
Maybe to only observe them from a distance or even take a picture of them
to share with others. In the
meantime, remember learning is knowledge and knowledge is powerful.
Put your knowledge to good use by helping others who are less fortunate.
By reading and teaching and sharing your knowledge we can all help each
other learn! Thanks for
visiting “Froggie’s Pad.” Come
back soon as you are always welcome!
Copyright 2001
by Author Patti Tricoli
