Jeremiah was a bullfrog…
An American bullfrog, actually… and the largest frog species in North America.
They’re nocturnal predators and will ambush and eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths, including insects, mice, fish, birds and snakes. They sit quietly and wait for prey to pass by, then lunge with their powerful hind legs, mouths open wide. Who knew?
We see quite a few during the summer months along the banks of our irrigation ditch. Don enjoys driving me mad each time we spot one by singing this little tune.
There’s a little green frog (glumph)
Swimming in the water.
A little green frog (glumph)
Doing what he oughter.
He jumped right off of the lily pad
The little duck bit.
And he said “I’m glad,
I’m a little green frog,
Swimming in the water,
Glumph, Glumph, Glumph.”
October 12, 2010 at 4:06 am
Wish I could get a sense of how big it is. Must be pretty darn big to eat a mouse!
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October 12, 2010 at 6:31 am
Leah,
We have seen a couple of really big ones this summer… we’re talking dinner plate size. 😮
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October 12, 2010 at 4:35 am
They eat MICE…?
I think if you have frogs you have a healthy environment. Once the environment starts to go bad, I have heard, the frogs are the first to go.
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October 12, 2010 at 6:30 am
June,
I have heard the same thing. Therefore, it’s comforting to have frogs! 🙂
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October 12, 2010 at 5:39 am
Okay, now I’ve got the Jeremiah was a Bullfrog song going around in my head. Thankyouverymuch.
Just how big DO they get if they can snack on mice, birds, and snakes? (We have their cute little cousins the toady frogs hopping around here in WI.)
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October 12, 2010 at 6:29 am
C,
From National Geographic:
They can grow to a length of 8 inches (20 centimeters) or more and weigh up to 1.5 pounds (750 grams). Even the tadpoles of this species can reach 6.75 inches (17.2 centimeters) in length.
Impressive, non?
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October 12, 2010 at 7:45 am
Good heavens! Dinner plate sized toads. Bet your dogs leave THEM alone!
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October 12, 2010 at 6:34 am
p.s. You’re welcome about the song. 😉 I have the same affliction this morning.
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October 12, 2010 at 6:47 am
I understand that wordpress has a feature that allows you add a soundtrack to a post. It’s our turn to hear Don singin’ that song.
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October 12, 2010 at 6:50 am
Carson,
I’m not so sure Don would agree with you. 😉
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October 12, 2010 at 7:15 am
We seem to have more toads around than frogs. But there’s no water on our property so perhaps that’s why.
He’s sure a pretty color green.
Di
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October 12, 2010 at 7:45 am
Di,
And isn’t it interesting how his head is so much brighter than the rest of his body? I’m still wondering if that has anything to do with the fact that his body probably spends a lot of time submerged under water.
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October 12, 2010 at 7:45 am
What a lovely fellow.
When we dissected our bullfrog in high school biology, he had a WHOLE crawfish in his stomach. It was pretty cool. Of course, I was a science geek…
Still am, actually.
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October 12, 2010 at 7:48 am
Cathy,
See? There… living proof that bullfrogs eat “big things.”
So, that makes me wonder… I thought high school biology frogs were farm raised? Do they feed frogs crawfish on farms?
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October 13, 2010 at 7:50 am
To this day, we have no idea. My teacher did contact the distributer, but they had no explanation. They graciously decided that they didn’t need to charge us for the extra “specimen” though…
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October 12, 2010 at 9:39 am
He is a beauty! When I was a kid we had an enormous soft and squishy toad living in the backyard – he/she lived mostly in the dog’s food dish, an old metal skillet missing the handle. But every day Old Toad would be sitting in the leftovers!!! I’ll handle a frog over a toad any day.
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October 12, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Nancy,
Interesting… I think I’d prefer the non-squishyness of a toad over a frog. 😀
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October 12, 2010 at 9:40 am
And yes – I’m humming now, thank you very much. I wish I could say it was Jeremiah, but I’m humming the little white duck song – have been trying to memorize the lines again so I can croak to my baby grandson when I see him this weekend!!!
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October 12, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Nancy,
Don is going to be so pleased to know someone else remembers the little white duck song! Your baby grandson is going to love it. 🙂
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October 12, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Did Don have a Burl Ives record, when he was younger?
We had some, and one had that song…. 🙂
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October 12, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Vicki,
I asked Don about the whole Burl Ives thing… no, it wasn’t a Burl Ives record, but rather his mamma who sang the song to him. 🙂
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October 19, 2010 at 7:01 am
I think it has more verses….
A tadpole? “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle”?????
🙂
This one I learned from Burl.
From my parents, it was Mairsy Dotes and Doesy Dotes and Little Lambsy Divey……….
🙂
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