Three Less Pets!

Yep, today was the day to let our little amphibian friends go. The kids and I collected about 10 tadpoles from a ditch in town several weeks ago. We had fun watching them grow into two little tree frogs and one toad of some sort. Yes - that does only equal 3 - the rest didn' t quite survive the Streeter kids! Survival of the fittest you know! Anyway, we (aka - I) have been collecting bugs from the porch lights to feed our little friends. It's amazing what can fit into their mouths! As I was getting a bit tired of this nightly routine, I started encouraging the kids to think about when they would like to let their temporary pets go. Today was the day! Yee haw! No more bombarding beetles for me! Our original intent in collectng tadpoles was to release them in our pond area. We gave that up after our fish happily gobbled up the little guys! So, Steve built up one area of the pond that is shallow and protected from the 10 big bullies and perfect for smaller fish (or frogs!) and our second batch of tadpoles were allowed to grow into adults. The pictures show Dylan and Lyndsi finding the perfect spot for the frogs and toad to call home.

Lyndsi and her frog

Dylan and his frog

Aren't they cute! They really were pretty fun to have around - though very stinky! This is a tree frog. Apparently they are recognizable by the black stripes through their eyes.

And here is our lone toad. I'm not sure why we decided this had to be a toad. I think Dylan just told me it was and I accepted it!

This evening when we went back out to check on the hoppers, we found one. I hope the others were hiding! It's been so hot that I was a little worried about finding fried frogs, but we let them go in the cool of the morning and near a water source so I'm sure they are safe and happy - fingers crossed!

I made a joke about getting rid of 3 pets earlier in the post but in our release we discovered at least 5 baby fish in the shallows. I'm an auntie!! I was truly excited! I can't tell yet if the babies are koi or goldfish but I'm happy with either! Hopefully their parents don't eat them before they have a chance to grow.

And one more animal story to share. Steve stopped at the local Chevron yesterday and spotted an Old English Sheepdog. Steve had an Old English when he was growing up so he's always had a soft spot for them. After talking to the dog's owner, Steve discovered he was in the presence of a celebrity - sort of ... Bear with me here - the dog was the brother of the dog who belongs to Jack Black's father. For those of you who don't know, Jack Black's parents live in Tonasket, which is about 30 miles from here. For those of you who don't know Jack Black, he is an actor. If I knew how to put links into my post I would find a Jack Black link for you. But I don't so I won't! Anyway, though I've never met the actor, I have spent a little time with his mom and Jack has been known to show up around town occasionally. So... Steve was very excited to be able to come home and do a little bragging!