Some friends helped us (finally) release our beloved Bilbo the frog. Yes, this is the one I last posted here when he really became a frog...from the tadpoles we caught on April 22--Earth Day.
Isn't it nice to have friends with a creek in their back yard? We spotted a number of tadpoles, but I decided that once a year for this nature study is sufficient.
Not sure if you can really see him in the bug catcher Mary Kate is holding, but we found out that Bilbo has a flair for a bit of drama. He's on his back playing dead!
You can see him closer here. .JPG)
He's always been a bit shy (hiding under plants and rocks in our tank), quite skittish, and not up for much adventure. Clearly hobbit-like as his name implies. So it was pretty humorous to watch this last bit of dramatic display!
I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of Joe taking him out of the tank. He had us worried for a moment when it appeared that rigor mortis had instantly set in--stretched out stiff-straight legs and on his back! When he was set into the bug catcher, however, he flipped back over into regular crouched frog position.
(Can you tell we got a little too much entertainment out of all this?!)
Bilbo in his new home...not far from where we caught him (the day we took the picture at the top of this blog). He looked happy...and relieved!
Goodbye, Bilbo! If you get hungry, we left some of your food around where we released you...because Mikey was concerned that you didn't have good hunting skills yet!
After playing (for hours) at the creek, all (9) kids came back up and climbed in this fantastic tree fort.
A creek AND a tree fort! What more could a child want?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tadpoles--Final Chapter: Releasing Bilbo
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1 comment:
That was fascinating to watch him grow... I thought you had released him a while ago- I didn't realize you still had him! I am so glad to see he went safe and sound into the creek.... dare I say, "cute?"
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