We have recently been greatly entertained by the cacophony of frogs as they splash about in the ditch and ponds.
We have recently been greatly entertained by the cacophony of frogs as they splash about in the ditch and ponds. The loud croaking is the male frog calling for a mate or possibly warning other males away from his territory.
Later on that same day when I was walking around the farm I found a huge clump of frogspawn in a fast-drying section of the pond, so we lifted it and moved it to a ditch near by which was partially shaded with a good supply of fresh water. This is important as it can take anything from 6-12 weeks for the spawn to develop into a tadpole and then into a frog. Interestingly, when we returned to check that the spawn had settled in, other frogs had laid their eggs near by. This is a very good sign as it means that the transposed spawn will be well looked after.
Having been on this site for over twenty years and because we have always been organic, we have a large population of frogs and toads on the farm. They overwinter, not only in the ditches, but also in the polytunnels hiding under the pots. Later in the season the baby frogs come to the tunnels and can give one quite a jump when we are moving plants as they leap out. Frogs and toads are very important as they keep a number of pests under control including the notorious slugs.
The farm rodent operatives have also been very busy since the arrival of the warmer weather. There are three cats on the farm, Borage, Basil and his sister Myrtle. Basil (pictured) is a buffoon, but when he eventually does catch something he is immensely proud. Because there are so many rodents available on the farm, I am pleased to say that the cats rarely attack or catch the birds. Which is a very good thing as we have two blackbirds, Denise and Deirdre, that have taken up residence in the stock tunnel. They've become so fat eating all the myrtle berries that they now have difficulty in flying.
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