Today I am thankful for...
small wonders.
-This little guy is a Northern Spring Peeper, which is one of the most common frogs in the Northeastern US. They are easily identified by the "X" shape on their backs and their sticky toe pads. My husband and I were surprised by the frog's pale beige coloring. According to the link above, Spring Peepers can change color to blend in with their surroundings. This guy had been hiding out in a huge hydrangea blossom and when I shook the blossom to remove any insects, he flew out and hit the deck with a little thud. I had no idea what it was at first, because it just looked like a gelatinous light colored mass. I then looked closer and jumped back - I had never seen a frog like this before and I thought I had just smashed it. But within several minutes, he was jumping around. Perhaps he had lightened his coloring to blend in with the bluish-cream colored hydrangea.
-My husband was working in the driveway this weekend and left some boards outside to dry. When he returned only two hours later, he found a spider web stretched across the entrance to the garage, anchored at three points. It is amazing to ponder how these tiny creatures can create such intricate webs in such a short amount of time. How do they decide where to build their webs? I don't think the spider said, "Okay, I'll launch myself from the recycling bin over to the bottom of the garage door. Then from there, I'll land on that piece of wood." The following day, another web was spun near this one, which had been destroyed.
-The twirling and twining of tendrils is so fascinating! I might not be very good at growing food, but apparently I have great soil for growing out of control gourd vines (on the left) and loofah vines (on the right). They are threatening to take over the yard. The gourd is growing along the top of the chicken yard fence and has been on a mission to take over the gate. The loofahs have almost completely encircled the perennial flower garden, both by crawling along the top of the wire fence and by growing straight over the other plants. On Sunday morning they looked like they were about to shake hands.
-Did you know that loofah flowers are so beautiful? (This one is just opening in the early morning light. It will open completely during the day and if it is a male flower, it will drop off that same evening.)
What are you thankful for today?