Saga of the Tadpoles

Back in March, Leah and I noticed two polka-dotted gelatinous masses in the wet-weather pond behind our neighbor's house. We thought it would be neat for her Pre-K class to watch tadpoles turn into frogs, so we made a note to keep an eye on the frog eggs and see when they hatched into little swimmers. A few weeks later, the goo was gone and we could see little black tadpoles darting around in the water. We took an aquarium net and scooped up ten. We had a nice little critter box filled with sand and rain water all ready for them. I had even boiled and pureed enough organic lettuce to fill an ice cube tray. The tadpoles went to live in Leah's classroom until the middle of May when school let out for Summer. I revisited the pond a couple of weeks before school was over, and noticed that our tadpoles' brothers and sisters were a bit larger than ours, so I added them to the tank as well. A couple little guys got cannibalized, but I guess that's nature. The ones we had been raising were lighter in color than the new recruits as well. I suppose they were blending in with the sandy bottom of the critter cage.

Anyways, once we had the tadpoles home for the Summer, we transferred them to an old 20 gallon aquarium and added an airstone. Up to this point, they'd been eating about half a lettuce cube every-other day.

One afternoon, we had our playgroup over to play, and I put a towel over the top of the tank so little fingers wouldn't be tempted to reach in and play with the tadpoles or the sand and water. Unfortunately, I forgot and left it on there overnight, and it fell in the tank. The residual detergent produced lots of bubbles (with the help of the airstone), and resulted in the loss of all but two tadpoles over the next few days. I did many water changes until finally there were no more bubbles.

On the last day of May, I went back out to the pond to check on the remaining tadpoles. We had not had much rain in recent weeks. There were tadpoles on top of tadpoles in a tiny mud puddle, with their backs sticking out of the water.

Rather than "let Nature take its course" as James suggested, I showed mercy to the little guys. (After all, frogs are disappearing from ecosystems all over the world!) I scooped up three nets worth of tadpoles and put them in a bucket of clean water, then added them to the 20 gal aquarium with the other two. When Leah and I got around to counting them, we had around 90 tadpoles!

I upped their food to a whole cube every day and added a big rock so they could come up for air as their lungs matured. One of the newbies had legs, and quickly finished his transformation. We released him down by the pond from whence he came, and he hopped off.

Now they seem to have stalled in their development. None of the other tadpoles are growing legs. They are increasingly hungry for protein and nibble on whomever is available. I am about ready to release them all into the backwaters of the river with a "Bon Voyage!" and let Nature take its course.

In Bloom

It seems I've got gardening on the brain more than usual these days. Of course, gardens are nearing their peak now, so it's understandable! James had a day off during the week (as a concession for working such long hours on the conversion), so we all went to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens to see the plants and their Summer exhibit: "Happily Ever After." Area artists set up interactive scenes from famous fairy tales throughout the gardens, and the kids just love it!

The princesses and the pea. (Next, the princesses jumped on the bed!)

My Three Billy Goats Gruff, complete with troll and mosaic glass stepping stones.

We even managed to see the art museum, housed inside the old family mansion, and left without breaking or smudging anything!

I wonder what Leah is wishing for?

In our own garden, it has been a wonderful year. The show began with the yellow iris display, and hit a high note with the climbing roses outdoing themselves. Now the hollyhocks are taking center stage, with purple salvia playing a supporting role.

Butterflies abound!

We are so proud of Leah for learning how to ride her bike without training wheels! She gets a little more confident every day, and will be ready to ride the trails at the beach in a few weeks! Go, Leah, go!

School's Out!

It's astounding to look back on all that happened in just the last half of May! Leah graduated from Pre-K after a great year during which she grew so much.

We've spent time enjoying the nice Spring weather with friends while out strawberry picking and creek stomping.

After an earlier attempt was rained out, we were finally able to make it to the farm for a weekend of camping and exploring. The girls loved discovering neat rocks, pretty flowers, thousands of tadpoles, all kinds of small critters, creeks for splashing, the wonders of the cave, and, of course, cows.

All smiles with daisies outside the pop-up camper

On a ledge over the cave with friends

See you around the bend!