Of frogs and flickers

Early this past spring when the temperatures started to warm our black rubber water trough, lots of little pollywogs appeared. It didn't take long for them to disappear too. Then in the warm summer days we heard the croaking at the hose bibs on both the front and back of the house. Our daughter Jenee knew that meant the pollywogs didn't disappear but had transformed into frogs. She spent most of the summer afternoon finding the frogs. There were about four consistently. Two were brown and two were green. Perhaps the green frogs were the males since they were more colorful, I'm not sure. I do know Jenee spent many hours being entertained by these frogs and even took one to school on her share day. Poor little frog, but it made it through it. Just a couple of weeks ago the frogs seem to go and hide as the cool temperatures of winter set in.

Right about this same time another funny thing was happening in our yard. A lot of birds flew in, a type I had not noticed before and couldn't wait to look up in the "Audubon Back Yard Birdwatcher" book. There were about five pairs I could see. The males were bright red under their beak and had brown and black speckles on its back with a white patch just above its tail.

I was having a hard time trying to find it in the book but what helped me find it was its extra long beak, like an ant eater. That helped me narrow down my choices to the woodpecker family. And there it was, the northern flicker.

I watched as the birds seemed to be eating my grass in the back yard and they made a weird sound like wick-wicka-wick then kee-yer.

I was very excited about spotting this new bird in my backyard. But, again, with the cold temperatures of winter here now, they also seemed to have disappeared.

Pine Nut Trail Association kiosk:

The placement of the new kiosks was a great success. About 20 volunteers showed up to help dig the holes and place in the metal posts to mount the bulletin board. Thank you for all your hard work. All of us who enjoy utilizing our Pine Nut Mountains for off-road use, whether horseback riding, hiking, or dirt bike riding really appreciate all of your efforts. Next time you are out to the east side of Stephanie, check it out and then consider if you have some time to volunteer and help out the cause. It's in our back yard and we need to respect it.

-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.