Frogs, Toads, and Pool Covers

I like frogs and toads. I like the sounds they make. I like the way they look when they "talk". I like to find toads in my garden. They are fun surprises  to suddenly spy when they hop out from under a bushy flower clump or when they think they are hiding away well enough out of sight by a damp shady corner of the foundation after the rain. 

Yes, I have even been known to talk to toads who decide to join me and keep me company for a few minutes in my weed pulling tasks, before they grow quite bored of my philosophical conversation topic and hop away. I haven't seen near as many frogs in the neighborhood as there once were, at least since the creek in the woods was diverted to storm water drainage culverts (I like nature and natural, and drainage tiles installed by humans is not the same as a fun creek winding through the shade of the tree canopies and mossy paths of the shadowy woods!)

I admit I like the way frogs and toads feel when I pick them up and gently hold them for a bit and look at them as they look back at me. I guess I never grew up in a lot of aspects when it comes to nature and its creatures since I still get a little giddy and giggly when I touch and hold some of nature's population. It is a sensory thing to interact with fuzzy brown and black caterpillars, ladybugs, earthworms, fireflies, even daddy long leg spiders. Yep, even those. I was a big hit being with my 6 nephews as an aunt and a mom to 3 since I wasn't/am not squeamish!!

Once, a long time ago, there was a huge bullfrog from the woods creek who stopped by after a thunderstorm for a visit, appearing in the driveway, he just wanted to say "Hello!". He let me pick him up and and then I set him back down to leap away, off to adventures and new places to explore, better places than the driveway. He was so big he looked like a misplaced toy sitting in the driveway.

The frogs still make their harmonious songs at night in the pool covers of the neighborhood in the late springtime each year as they tend to their pool cover nursery of tadpoles. I love that sound! Tadpoles are like magic to watch the way they transform so quickly from wiggly little specks... to swift swimming morphing beings of both tails and legs... to land and water dwellers with little strong arms and legs, in short order nearly in the blink of an eye. Thus a new season's batch of nature friends leaves the pool covers before they are drained of the murky water and leaves and removed for the human swimming season to commence.

Then we hope the toads and frogs don't jump in the pools only to find they cant get back out.

I remember specific little things certain teachers in elementary school taught me that are still retained inside my memory. Things like the difference between desert and dessert. "Dessert has more of the letter 's' than desert because everyone wants more sweet treats than hot sand!" ...and "All toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads." 

I liked learning that and let it absorb into my brain for a few minutes when she said it the day we had the overhead projector shining the images of amphibians against the wall of the darkened classroom. (It was so cool to be chosen by the teacher to be the one to pull the cord to either make the long span of heavy window drapes close or open to darken and brighten the classroom. Simple pleasures! Even more of an honor than to be chosen to flip off or flip back on the ceiling lights with all the light switches located between the wall mounted pencil sharpener and the classroom doorway.) No computers in those days. We had the very high tech forerunner of an educational website --the overhead projector, the one that probably blinds you like looking at an eclipsed sun if you look into the light bulb compartment and burns your hand as fast as Grandma's hot clothes iron if you get too close!

I have been having fun listing interesting things I am decluttering to offer to other owners through the Etsy shop. I sometimes will key in a word to the search box in my shop and see what comes up as a theme since not all items of one theme are always found inside of one specific shop section category shown as a table of contents for my shop. This time, tonight, I typed in "frog" and was amazed I had this much variety in the frog theme spanning different categories. I was spurred on to recall memories and to reminisce. Frogs and toads and pool covers (and school rooms, too!)

Etsy link is in the right margin of my blog page.

(Shown: rubber stamps, quilt pattern/instructions, 3-D stickers, cellphone case/tiny wristlet purse sewing pattern, cut/sew/stuff cloth frog toy)

Full bloom

The summer time heat is in full swing. The humidity is thick. The rain has been plentiful. We have not used the hose so far this season for anything growing related. No need. 

The vegetables are thriving. Baby sized tomatoes, green peppers, and zucchini on the vine so far.  The gourds and the watermelon doing their thing and loving the rainy weather. The weeds are doing their best to show their motivation for growth also. 

The flowers are making the hummingbirds, dragonflies, bees, and butterflies very happy. So fun to see them visit daily. Marigolds, purple Cone Flower, Tickseed, and wild orange Tiger Lilies are in full bloom. The Bleeding Hearts are still blooming though they are usually done by this far into the summertime. Their plants have become as big as bushes, I have not ever seen them be so exuberant in their size. The blooms were amazing and the abundant quantity of beautiful delicate little hearts were memorable for about 8 weeks' time span.

                                                            (Simple bright cheerfulness)

 This is an item I painted for relaxation therapy and have enjoyed owning, but I need to move things out to someone else to enjoy. I am downsizing a lot of my vintage treasures and things I have painted over the years. The paint brush has returned to my hand and the art supplies have come out of hiding. Far too long without doing fun creative things for relaxing me time, that have long been ideas tumbling through my brain. If you are an artist of any sort you will know this hurdle- that ideas are only half of the urge and to make them come to life is the other half. Inspiration cannot be forced, it has to just flow. Starting out with one or two projects and following them through to completion is like oiling the far too long resting Tin Man. It feels good! It feels alive and new.

                                                         inspiring vintage botanical book pages 

I have found some really great things to let go of in the downsizing quest. So much variety. Living in a three generational home there is always more to let go of to allow it to find a new loving home!! Great vintage stationery, unused vintage greeting cards and used vintage greeting cards so very beautiful and whimsical for display or as creative supplies, unique old postage stamps, crafting and art supplies, vintage book page papers to frame, sewing and yarn work patterns, some vintage decor pretties.  I am filling the photography store also. So much fun to offer both original photos and vintage photography too to go from my home to yours and let my foundation lift a bit from decluttering the treasures.



What have I been up to?
1. Being creative every chance I can.
2. Being motivated to not just start but to finish.
3. Enjoying the air-conditioning whenever I can!

What do I want to do?
1. Go on a day trip as an escape.
2. Explore a place that is all new to me.
3. Discover wonderful places far enough away from the same old pot hole roads I encounter each day!

What do I need to do?
1. This week's knee surgery so both knees are healthier for adventures.
2. Clean the three seasons room. Where does that stuff come from that everyone sets down in there?
3. Drop off the box of donation items, and then start filling another box.

10 memories of springtime from my childhood

(Me among spring bulb flowers in 1965 and then 10 years later in 1975. The first one at home, the second at the park.)

1. Watching the spring bulb flowers emerge from the cold ground and burst into color and fragrance. My very favorites are Hyacinths. (I have been known to detour from my rushed, planned out route inside the grocery store just to swing through the floral dept and breathe in a big fragrant dose of potted brightly colored Hyacinths!)

2. Being able to run outside to play without having to first bundle up in 5 layers of clothing and coats, mittens, hats etc.

3. Seeing adorable baby bunnies and chicks, and other birds. I always wished we could raise baby chicks. Mom said absolutely not-They grow much too quickly. (Now that I'm a Mom, I have allowed my E. to breed her bunnies several years in the spring.)

4. Being able to wear white shoes again. Who can resist a new pair of white patent leather shoes? I think I may have even tried to sneak wearing mine to bed when I got a new pair. I didn't want to take them off. I'm sure they stayed next to the bed so I could open my eyes and see them first thing in the morning!

5. Taking my bike out for a spin up and down the street after it being banished to the garage all winter.

(1970-Me with my oldest nephew at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Michigan for Easter. He seemed like a little brother since only 6 years divided us. By the way, I loved those t-strap suede Hush Puppy shoes!! Big yarn tied in my hair!)

6. Going to Aunt B's and Uncle J's house and Grandma and Grandpa's house each Easter Sunday. They lived on the same street, which was pretty convenient. As a kid it seemed like a long ride in the back seat to get to their town in Michigan from our house in Ohio. The Easter Bunny would include a new stuffed animal in my candy basket and leave it by my bed so I would find it first thing when I woke up. The new animal usually went in the car with me that day. (In the photo above you can see me holding a rabbit. I still have her. Touching the pink velvet inside her ears still reminds me of that Easter's car ride.)

I had fun playing with my cousins and eating too much candy. We had to save room in our tummies because there were always plenty of good things to eat for dinner. Chairs were gathered from all around the house and pressed into service as we squeezed around the huge table .

( my ink and water color paint art)

7. The arrival of the first fat Robin birds in the yard and watching them take things from the dormant garden to fashion their nests.

8. Springtime break from school meant that when we returned to school it would be a more tolerable amount of time until the school year ended!!

9. Warm rain showers and the smell of the dirt after a quick down pour. The air feels so invigorating!! Jumping in puddles up and down the street and searching for the biggest and deepest puddle.

10. I had a great friend named Joan who lived next door. We would sit on the split rail fence that divided our two yards and play hand clapping rhyme games..."Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack..." and others. We even made up lots of them. When it was springtime, there was a Pussy Willow bush by the fence and we would pick off the soft, fuzzy buds in between hand clapping games-- and then get yelled at by her Mom or mine without fail! Here is where you insert an all-knowing Mom voice = "Are you girls picking at that bush??!" It was too tempting. We couldn't help ourselves.
(I just saw a bush for sale in the garden section of the store the other day when my kids were in tow. I shared this story with them and they thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Mommy getting yelled at for acting mischievously!!!!)

10 Things I Like To Do Outside During Summer

Note: These two little pictures are my own drawings that I did in colored pencil. I matted them this morning with card stock.

1. I really enjoy digging in the compost pile in the backyard and finding lots of wiggly worms busy at work. I have wonderful rich soil under the surface of the compost and the worms are the reason!!

2. This kind of goes with the first one...I think it is fun to get really, really dirty while gardening and then shower all clean with some yummy smelling shower gel.

3. Have you ever just reclined in the grass and looked up into the tree tops? I think it is a very peaceful, almost meditation type, thing to do.

4. Can anyone ever grow out of the fun that is riding a bike? I hope not! It brings so much to your senses.

5. I get a thrill out of finding interesting dead wood branches that fall from our tall trees. Some of them are truly nature's art.

6. I like the smell of the wet dirt after a summer rain. I adore going out to jump in puddles with the kids.  (I just noticed that a lot of these thoughts include "dirt"!!)

7. On rare occasions I get the chance to sit in the shade and read. When I do get the chance, I wish I could change my name temporarily to something other than "MOM!". Sometimes in my lap it's decorating magazines or papercrafting/scrapbooking magazines. Sometimes a non-fiction book.

8. We go to the cemetery and feed the ducks in the big pond. It is a perfect way to clean out all the stale bits and crumbs of crackers, cereal and the like from the pantry. I also like to hang out in cemeteries cuz it's in my blood (read more cemetery posts for that info!)

9. Strangely enough, I like to wash windows. I don't do it as often as I should - but the sparkling satisfaction of clean glass makes me happy and seems to make the house almost smile!

10. The kids and I build "fairy houses" in the front yard in an area where the grass never grows. We use sticks, leaves, moss, ferns, pine needles, shells, stones and other nature things. We have done this for about 10 years. It is like a whole village!! Their friends love to come over and build too.

10 Things About Me

1. I have an ocean of creativity sloshing around in my brain.

2. If I had known that being a "stay-at-home mom" was going to be harder and more stressful than running a business and managing 10 employees, I never would have submitted my resume! Heehee! You can't just tell your kids "you're fired!".

3. I would enjoy traveling to lots of places in the world, but I most enjoy the fact that my feather pillow is still in the same place it has remained for all but 2 years of my entire life.

4. Some people marry for money, I sure didn't.

5. One of the best ways to spend a summer morning is to dig in the garden and get thoroughly dirty from crown to toe and then shower clean and put on perfume. " Spend an afternoon. You can't take it with you."

6. " Quiet please" is what I was raised to say, never "Shut up"!

7. Books are a treasure. The older the better. I have been known to purchase a book just because it is old and has a red cover! Only if it fits into my book buying budget, though (50 cents or less).

8. What could be better than a pot of homemade soup simmering upon the stove for hours? Not much.

9. I have oodles of fabric and all good intentions of assembling it into marvelous things! Some day when there are 25 hours!

10. I am just CRAZY about the Romanov's [the last czar of Russia and his family]. I voraciously devour anything I can read about them. I have my own N. and A. in my ancestors' family tree. To carry on the names to yet more genealogy branches, I have recycled the names to two of my children.