Alright so it's not so much a household of three - it's more like a swampy threesome. Since we installed a pond a couple of years back many creatures have come to live alongside our ducks, Clarence and Claude.
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| Clarence and Claude (Claude is green headed and Clarence is grey) |
So we were very happy when a couple of noisy bright green frogs (Franc and Francetta) decided to take up residence. The only problem we had is that we have never been able to tell them apart so when a third frog turned up this year that also looked exactly the same we decided that they would now collectively be known as 'The Francs'.
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| Franc chilling in the shallows |
Often to be found doing very froggy things like croaking, resting on water-lily pads and playing leapfrog with each other I felt compelled to try to learn a little more about our little long-legged friends.
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| Franc sunbathing on the edge of the pond |
To my surprise and delight it seems we have three Grenouille Verte also alarmingly known as the 'Edible Frog' (oops!) Yes our little 'Francs' are sadly an endangered species largely thanks to the appetites of certain Gallic gourmands. Suffice it to say I will not let on to our neighbour, Lionel, who has on numerous occasions mentioned a great penchant for frogs' legs.
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| Can you spot all three? |
All joking aside I had no idea until now that the native French frog had declined so much and according to a very interesting, although rather upsetting, article in the British Guardian newspaper it really has become a serious problem that needs to be addressed.
Anyway, please give a thought to 'The Francs' before you decide to tuck into a plate of frogs legs. On a more cheerful note here are a few quirky frog related items I found on three of my fellow Etsy traders sites:-
A lovely sterling silver frog brooch with pearl.
A 1930s tinplate frog from Germany.
And finally a beautiful illustration by one of my favourite artists - Edmund Dulac.
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