The highlight of the day was, by far, cleaning out the pool. It was stinky, and messy, and hard, and a little chilly out, and I almost slipped and fell in - but it was totally worth it! I only managed to clean off the cover, which comes off tomorrow so I can clean out the bottom, but I've already managed a haul I'm quite proud of.
As of May 18th:
Black Sperm - 5
Chirping Tree Frogs - 2
Croaking Bull Frog - 1
Spermzillas - 5
Look on Gram's Face - PRICELESS
The first frog caught me by surprise, I was flipping the net inside out to dump the leaves & he leapt out and landed on my foot. I actually shrieked in shock - then went chasing after the little bugger with the net. He was the Croaker. I dumped him in the fish pond so he wouldn't scare the crap outta me again & had a good laugh watching the fish flee in terror.
I caught a dark chirper and a light chirper. They're lots of fun because they're small enough to fit in one hand, and when they realize they can't wriggle free, they start chirping & make your hand vibrate.
Both chirpers were flopped into the fish pond, which is the same shape as the pool, but probably 1/75th the scale. I've been told when the male tree frogs realize there's another male within so many yards, they'll start a battle of the band thing & try to out chirp the other. I got a kick outta the tree frogs at either end of the 4ft kidney-shaped fish pond, chirping so log the neighbors might lose sleep tonight. I'm used to it, since the pool is in the back yard, but the pond is in the side yard, closer to the Clarks.
I caught five Spermzillas! None of them are quite as big as the one I saw the first sighting, but I have high hopes for next week when I get around to skimming out the bottom of the pool. Four of my Spermzillas have hind legs and one has both hind and front, but still a long tail. None of my black sperm have legs and I'm wondering what's taking them so long...I'm also realizing I forgot to put the spermzillas in a bigger jar when I was done cleaning the pool and they're still sitting in an old jar on the back porch that still has the tartar sauce label stuck to it. I'll have to do something about that tomorrow before I leave for work. Maybe I can pick up a cheap little terrarium at the Dollar Store tomorrow - at least a cheap fish bowl.
Best part of the day, Gram came out to talk to me as I was finishing cleaning off the cover. One of the chirpers started up and she said, "Oh, look at that! There's a frog in the fish pond." She had an air of wonder and awe in her voice. She was delighted to see a frog in her fish pond. I replied, "Yeah, there are three, actually."
"What?" Gone was the air of wonder and delight - in seeped the foul air of annoyance.
"I didn't want them to die when we start putting chemicals in the pool, so I put them in the fish pond.""Next time I have money to spare, I'm buying you an aquarium so you can keep all these pets of yours in the bedroom."
I would actually love that, compared to having to keep them out on the back porch. If they were in my room, I'd see them every morning & know who had legs and who had arms and who lost their tail. I'm sure the sperm would like it too. They're probably developing a complex in the tartar sauce jar, thinking they're about to be eaten.
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