Gray Treefrogs frequent our yard. Hearing their call always puts a smile on my face.
These frogs like selecting protected areas to hide during the day. A favorite spot is the space between the top of our shed door and the drip cap above it. It is a well-protected space from most predators, but there is a downside—humans! If you want to go into the shed, you have to carefully check to be sure a tree frog (or two) isn’t going to get hurt when you open the door. If you …. s l o w l y … open the door and then gently easy them under the drip cap they will grudgingly move onto the siding of the shed. Of course, it takes me an hour to mow, so by the time I’m done, they are back to hiding on the top of the door and the slow process begins again! It is a bit of a pain, but having some classy amphibians in the backyard is well worth a little lost time.
Another favorite hiding spot is an old wren box. Seeing a frog pop its head out is always fun. They also like to disappear into the tubes of our wind chimes. Talk about a safe place to hide; that’s like having a suit of armor! They seem to rethink the wisdom of that hiding place when the wind picks up and the chimes actually ring. Then a little guy comes shooting out like the world is going to end. We’ve joked about using the tube as a giant blow gun to shoot the frog across the lawn, but you’d need some massive lungs for that job. (As if!)
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