Frog Porn and Spitting Flowers

Tell me now . . . isn't that a title that just insists you keep reading?

This past week, Joseph and I have had the chance to sleep outside on the deck for the first time this year. It has been 80 degrees during the day, so nights are a balmy and lovely high 50s. We put up the air mattress and brought out the blankets and returned to our lovely bed on the upper deck.

Now, as I have posted before, nature is noisy. This is actually a good thing since I have tinnitus and can't sleep in silence anyway. In the past, we have dealt with grouchy squirrels, irritating birds, hyper dogs, lovely windchimes, entertaining neighbors, and lovely breezes in the pines. This week, however, we had two new experiences.

The first was . . . spitting flowers. We have this amazing vine that grows on our deck. Each spring, it blooms in beautiful pink blossoms . . . so pretty that we often use it as a photo backdrop for family pictures. I love that vine. The other day I was looking at it and I saw . . . . .something . . . a little like pollen but heavier, a little like rain but lighter, coming off of the vine. It didn't stop after a few seconds . . . it just kept coming. I STILL don't know what it was (and I kept checking to make sure none of us were turning into pod people afterwards). As I was lying in bed on the deck last night, I felt something hitting my face and knew it had to be the spitting flowers. This morning, I had hoped to wake with superpowers or something . . . but sadly, no.

And then there are the bullfrogs. In the yard behind us, we clearly have some MEGA bullfrogs. They start croaking all at once and they speed up, get louder and louder . . . . and then all of them stop at once. Joseph and I theorized that the first calls were mating calls because we heard croaking from one spot and then a response from another. Later, the calls were merged and louder and more . . . intense. So, we figured the mating call had been successful and this was now the sound of frog porn. (I am not embarrassed to tell you that Joseph made a sincere attempt to imitate it one night, leaving me doubled over in laughter.) I am astounded at the sound these creatures make and how they begin and end at the very same moment . . . leading my daughter to compliment them on what is, apparently, skill and good timing on both their parts.

Ah, nature.