Yes my frogs have come out from under the snow and are mating already.
Does that mean Spring is going to be early this year. I do hope so.
So we will have more tadpoles this year again which is something to look forward to.
Frogs tend to lay many many eggs because there are many hazards between fertalization and full grown frogness! Those eggs that die tend to turn white or opaque. The lucky ones that actually manage to hatch still start out on a journey of many perils.
Life starts right as the central yolk splits in two. It then divides into four, then eight, etc.- until it looks a bit like a rasberry inside a jello cup. Soon, the embryo starts to look more and more like a tadpole, getting longer and moving about in it's egg.
Usually, about 6-21 days (average!) after being fertilized, the egg will hatch. Most eggs are found in calm or static waters, to prevent getting too rumbled about in infancy!
Some frogs, like the Coast foam-nest treefrog, actually mate in treebranches overlooking static bonds and streams. Their egg masses form large cocoon-like foamy masses. The foam sometimes cakes dry in the sun, protecting the inside moisture. When the rain comes along, after developement of 7 to 9 days, the foam drips down, dropping tiny tadpoles into the river or pond below. I will be waiting for the little babies.
It has rained very hard all night last night and into this morning, washing all the snow away now, which isnt a bad thing.
Ray has been busy on his computer and also with his painting of his latest picture so that was good and I did all the housework today.
We had a good walk but only a short one as the wind was blowing and so that was hard for me to breath in the cold air.
I get pains in my back and it gets really sore with a strangled feeling in the throat.
When we arrived back indoors I decided to make a bread pudding as I had some stale bread in the cupboard and didnt want to throw it out.
I also made a nice fruit cake as a surprise for Ray.
This bought us to dinnertime so I carried on and cooked a Lamb stew and jacket Potato.
We will have a cup of coffee and a piece off cake for supper and snuggle down and watch a DVD.
