{"id":1426,"date":"2009-07-14T23:25:04","date_gmt":"2009-07-15T06:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/?p=1426"},"modified":"2018-10-02T19:19:03","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T19:19:03","slug":"a-bullfrog-mudbath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ingridtaylar.com\/?p=1426","title":{"rendered":"An American Bullfrog in Berkeley"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I don’t usually ignore visual anomalies. They bring me to interesting things.<\/p>\n

On this Berkeley day, something seemed out of place — that nagging oddity in my periphery. I turned and looked closer in the mud. Sure enough, there was an unusual outline in the creek bed.<\/p>\n

\"Frog

Frog in Mud – \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n

As quickly as I noticed the frog, it dove into the mud. There is a frog in the photo below, concealed in the sludge:<\/p>\n

\"Hidden

Hidden Frog – \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n

I found a place to sit, behind some flowering Yarrow<\/a>. After a few minutes, the frog peered out of its bath of mud. It was an American Bullfrog<\/a> with its citrine eyes and green mug:<\/p>\n

\"Hidden<\/a>

Hidden Frog – \u00a9ingridtaylar<\/p><\/div>\n

I posted the above image on Flickr and referred to the bullfrog as a “he,”\u00a0offering the following distinction:<\/p>\n

On female bullfrogs the tympanum (eardrum) is the same size or smaller than the eye socket. Male bullfrog tympanums are much larger filling most of the distance to their eyes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, this beautiful “she” watched me for a while. When I’d move my lens, her eyes followed. I set my camera down and just enjoyed the simplicity of the moment.<\/p>\n

A few bullfrog factoids:<\/p>\n