 |
| The tree frog may be hidden in here |
We have discovered that the tree frog is living in our virginia creeper. The reason we know this is because we heard a quite loud quacking, duck-like sound coming from the creeper. We searched but there was no duck. There was in fact no room for a duck in the creeper, so it had to be something else making that noise. After a quick search of the internet I found a posting by Lang Elliott which said that the call of a male tree frog is "..
..a harsh quank, quank, quank [sic]
repeated about once a second." I do not know who Lang Elliott is or what his credentials are, but it all seemed to ring true (and I suppose frogs go
quank rather than
quack to distinguish themselves from ducks, and thus avoid potentially embarrassing confusion).
 |
| The perfect camouflage for a tree frog |
The only trouble is, virginia creeper is the perfect camouflage for tree frogs. The green of their leaves is the exact same green as the frog, and the red tips to the leaves and the red stalks exactly match the tree frogs red toes.
 |
| Virginia creeper coloured tree frog |
As a consequence, it is very difficult to spot the tree frog, and it's hard to tell where the "quanking" is coming from. We haven't wanted to get too close in our search in case it activates its paralysing mucus defense mechanism (even though we mean it no harm).
 |
| Or the tree frog could be hidden in here |
We have carefully scanned this photo and the one at the top for the elusive little quanker, but we cannot find it. I thought it could, though, make a good alternative to those spot the ball competitions you find in provincial newspapers (it also might make rather a good jigsaw puzzle - all virginia creeper leaves with just one little tree frog hidden among them). So, "Dear Reader" we will offer a prize of a bottle of our local wine to the first person who successfully locates the frog (
Terms and conditions apply - see below).
 |
| The prize (minus the glasses) |
Terms and conditions:
1. You must have good enough eyesight to read these terms and conditions.
2. Only one prize will be awarded and this will go to the first person to notify the blog by email of the location of the frog in the picture at either the top or the bottom of this posting (NB the proprietor does not know which photo the frog is in if, indeed, it is in either).
3. The prize will be one bottle (75cl) of Domaine de la Garde Rose, which will be available to collect from La Borde Neuve (NB the prize does not include the two glasses shown in the photograph as these are now both broken - see post no. 38)
4. Any members of the proprietor's family or friends may enter this competition as they are the only people likely to be reading this blog.
5. The proprietor will not be held responsible for any untoward acts carried out under the undue influence of alcohol resulting from the consumption of the prize, including (but not restricted to) loss of virginity, the loss of the prize winner's driving licence, loss of job due to insulting or degrading behaviour, loss of partner resulting from inappropriate acts with another person, loss of liberty following illegal activities carried out under the influence of alcohol, loss of life due to an accident or an allergic reaction to rose wine from the Coteaux de Quercy, or un-planned preganancy.
