Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Today is Save the Frogs Day!!

Happy Save the Frogs Day!!! I hope everyone will take the time to visit the link in the text here and learn about ways to help conserve our amphibian friends, whether you can afford to donate or not. If we don't act now, then we may never get to see a cutie like this again....

...or hear sounds like this in the spring...

Eventually if the amphibians continue to disappear, this may be the only frog you'll see "in the wild"!

Please help Save the Frogs!

12 comments:

Barbee' said...

Lisa, I appreciate your reminding all of us about these darling little things that are growing fewer and fewer.

Changing the subject: I thought of you today while I was working outdoors and thought of a few questions I hope you don't mind me asking about the worm bins. I have a tub of mixed soil and grass and thatch. Today I discovered there are some earthworms in it. I was adding a handful of pullings to it, but I picked out the tiny cloves and stems of wild garlic, because I thought they may not like onions and garlic.
1. Do you have any thoughts on that?
2. Have you noticed any other things they do not like?
3. Is the liquid that drains out of the bins something like urine produced by the worms, or, is it from the plant material, or what?

If you do not want to have this comment here on your post would you please respond by email to me at
bees dot garden at yahoo dot com
I sure thank you!

WiseAcre said...

Make sure they keep on croaking!

The assortment of froggy friends have finally awakened here. The peepers are the first sound of spring and as welcome as the first flower blooming

Anonymous said...

Education is the key and I'm so happy that you are doing these posts. News travels fast on the web and through blogs, but I'm afraid that the people we really need to reach, don't read blogs or give a crap about frogs, sadly.
They just keep pouring on the chemical fertilizers and spraying pesticides. They're the same people who don't respect nature, nor do they teach their kids to repect nature.
But, hopefully, those of us who do care, will protect their little piece of heaven and all the little critters who live there.
v.

Marion in Savannah said...

We've got tiny green frogs and some largish toads who seem to live happily in our back yard. I've lost lots of plants to bugs (I never know who are "friendlies" and who aren't, and I won't risk killing a friendly bug) because I won't use poisons. Which may be why every now and then the frogs and I surprise each other. We're also blessed with bees, and last year I let the basil choke out the thyme because the bees simply COVERED the basil blossoms all summer long. Work to save the bees too...

lisa said...

Barbee-I have found that worms don't mind things like onions, garlic, and hot peppers in small amounts...especially if they are on the mild side. I've had some trouble recently with too much moisture in the bin-I got tiny "vinegar flies" buzzing around. If you add more bedding and let them "catch up" eating the scraps then they're fine. Other foods they don't recommend that you add are meat scraps and pet waste, this link may be helpful. As for the liquid, the forums I've read call it "leachate", it's some worm "pee" and some moisture leaking from the plant material. Many of the forums say it's not good for anything, but I've poured it on my houseplants and they LOVE it. I say go with what works! I hope this helps...don't hesitate to comment or email me if you have more questions. :)

Wiseacre-I agree, the froggies are a sure sign that spring is here, and I'd be very sad without them!

V-That's what I'm screamin'! I'd love to see more people switching to sedge or buffalo grass to have a nice lawn that doesn't need mowed. So far it's the single most important thing that's increased frogs in my yard, along with zero pesticides. Changing the world "one yard at a time" may be slow, but we'll get there! :)

Marion-I like your attitude! Bees are super important too, and your no-pesticide policy definately helps! I just put my mason bees out for the season, they are fun and easy for anyone to keep. They don't sting, and although you won't get honey, you will get plenty of pollination...fun stuff!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Ah spring peepers. I need to do another frog run--somehow April has (almost) gotten away from me!

lisa said...

Don't they just sound terrific? I turn down my radio on the way home just to hear them!

Unknown said...

Tonight around my condo I can hear grey tree frogs, Fowler's toads, and one lone green tree frog. Finally, spring.

Unknown said...

I like the frogs and toads too, our yard is usually brimming with them. It's amazing how much they can be hurt by people's carelessness.

I refuse to use toxic pesticides and fertilizers anymore. Cheesehead wants to buy more of what we used to use before I knew better. Now I just need to convince him that we don't need all that stuff. Wish me luck.

lisa said...

David-Don't they make the most beautiful music? Hooray Spring!

Cinj-Good luck with Cheesehead! You could remind him that pesticides leache into drinking water, and by using them you could be eventually poisoning yourselves...besides, lots of non-toxic methods can keep down weeds: physical barriers like cloth scraps (cotton) or cardboard, mulch, etc. Plus manure from horses and cows makes great fertilizer, and you can usually get it for free! Just be sure to let "fresh" cow manure sit awhile, they digest pretty thoroughly and it can burn plants if it's too new. Horse manure hasn't been a problem in my experience, but it can also contain lots of weed/grain seeds that will germinate (since they don't digest as thoroughly.) I usually cover it with a layer of mulch to combat that aspect.

chuck b. said...

I'm totally on board with the frogs. I wish I had some to save.

lisa said...

I wish you did, too!