Monday, October 25, 2010

(Day 298) Bugs beware big bullfrogs

In between bouts of rain this afternoon I went out to check the pond pumps since the fallen leaves tend to get sucked into them and they get clogged. As I walked around the edge of the pond, a number of frogs in succession leaped into the pond, out of harm's way I suppose. However, at the far end sat 3 of them, seemingly oblivious to my presence, but keeping a good eye on my movements.

I quickly went back in the house to get camera and tripod, and to put Sasha on the porch - her favourite pastime is hunting frogs ! Slowly I crept up on them, but they just sat there unperturbed. I think though, that despite their apparent disinterest, had I been a bug that strayed within reach, I would have met my end rather quickly. After all, they didn't reach this size without a steady diet of unwary bugs.

(70-200mm  f8  1/4 sec  ISO800)

(70-200mm  f14  1/3 sec  ISO800)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW those are big!!

Great close up Rick.
Glad you didn't become frog food!

Scott Law said...

Lucky you. These are great. Don't frogs hibernate in the winter? Should be gone soon.

Teté M. Jorge said...

Hey, Rick, these photos were special! Bravo!

Kisses with love.

Dawn said...

HUGE!
Gigantic frog!
My son would like this photo for his wall:)))

That is one great shot (yet again!)

Hope said...

wow. he is gorgeous.. I love frogs. always have..ever sense I scared my sisters once when we were camping with them. "smiling"
and this capture is indeed wonderful.. love his eyes and the reflection.. do you know what "frog" means?
F-forever
R-rely
O-on
G-God..
I truly do love this capture

becky said...

The eyes have it! What a fun face to find looking at me in my feed reader!
That top shot is AWESOME! I love the 2nd one, too... it's like big, BIGger BIGGEST!
:)

Leovi said...

When you open the blog I have a scare with this look so pervasive. Very good.

marty said...

oh you have so beautiful eyes my dear !
perhaps it's a prince lol !!!
la photo avec les 3 grenouilles est drôle !!
elles ont l'air énormes !!!
je t'envoie une tonne de bisous Rick !!!

Unknown said...

WOW, the one in the back in the 2nd photo is massively overweight . . . Looked like he swallowed another "F"orever-"R"ely-"O"n-"G"od . . . :-D

Just kidding, awesome closeup :-)

Greetz,

Joseph

Romantik Seelchen said...

lieber Rick, ich komme mir heute auch so vor wie deine Foto Modelle, ich sitze wo ich sitze, es ist mit mir nichts anzufangen,mir fehlt die Energie,ich hänge durch.... liebe Grüße von Jasmin

Biana said...

Love the warm tone in these, Rick! Even though I'm not a big fan of frogs.... Actually.. They scare me since I accidentally stepped on one with a bare foot. Soo disgusting...

What Karen Sees said...

Love the first image, so up close and personal. And you're right, if you had been a nice, fat, juicy bug, it looks like his tongue would have found you instantly!

imac said...

Eye Eye,
Eye Contact,
Got my eyes on yer,
iiubicurii4me? any idea my friend?

Carolyn Ford said...

My...what big eyes you have! Those are GREAT shots, Rick!

Rick said...

@Photog Ave - thanks Avery - glad I'm not a bug !

@Scott - yes, they try to survive at the bottom of our ponds - must work because in the spring we have millions of frog eggs ! Thanks Scott.

@teca - thank you teca; muitos beijos para você !

@Dawn - yes, that top one was a giant (gotta keep the kids indoors ;-) !

@Hope - thanks Hope - and that's a great acronym ! If you need a big one to REALLY scare your sister, I have a few ;-)

@becky - ha ha - hope it didn't put you off whatever you were eating at the time ;-) Yup - you noticed - they had lined themselves up all nicely in order of size ! Thanks Becky.

@Leovi - LOL - that frog is supposed to be smiling at you ;-)

@marty - yes indeed, a prince (want to give it quelques bisous ?). LOL - merci et pleines des bisous pour toi aussi !

@CarreraCaballo - I think you're right about that one in the back - I made some photos of him also - he's HUGE ! And I believe they will eat smaller F R O G S !

@jasmin - I hope today went better for you jasmin; good thing no large frogs came along. Here's wishing you a better week. Viele Grüße !

@Biana - ha ha - I can imagine you wouldn't like them much after stepping on one (didn't squish between your toes, did it ? ;-)

@Karen - thanks Karen; not a pleasant thought to see that big mouth open to swallow you as a bug !

@imac - ha ha mac, almost sounds like a song - 'And I Only Have Eyes, For You/Yer' ;-)

@Carolyn Ford - ... the better to see YOU with (before I eat you !) ... thanks Carolyn !

Cat said...

Not sure how I missed this one! You do find amazing subject matter for your posts! Nice "catch".

darlin said...

Awesome close ups, I married a few of these (and yes at different times) and hope that this one is my prince! LOL

Rick said...

@The Whimsical Gardener - thank you Cat ! By working daily on this Project 365 I think I'm steadily developing a better eye - or seeing things I hadn't 'seen' before.

Rick said...

@darlin - thanks Darlene ! Wisdom gained with each one, no doubt, so I'm sure the current one is the Prince !

Hope your week is going well.

Katherine said...

Wow...fantastic froggy fotos... they are fat little frogs aren't they??
I love the close up of the frogs eyes... great job Rick!

Rick said...

@Katherine - yes, they sure are (got to keep little kiddies well back from the pond ;-)

Thanks Katherine !