He shook his wings and puffed out his chest imposingly, which came across a bit like a tree frog trying to look menacing. – Tut T. Sutherland, The Hidden Kingdom

Nights can never be real and enjoyable without the croaking of frogs and the chirping of crickets. – Michael Bassey Johnson, Song of a Nature Lover

We stepped inside the greenhouse to show our visitors the blooming flowers. I led the couple while Sam followed. The greenhouse is not large but contains a mountain of plants collected over the years. The plants generously continue to bloom and multiply. As I turned to answer questions about the plants something hit the top of my head. I reached up to discover a tree frog. “It’s a frog,” I laughingly announced. Sam said, “I can’t believe you didn’t scream.” I gently removed the frog over to a large yucca with substantial fronds. It was only a little green frog with big eyes and a curved mouth mimicking a smile.

Years ago, in another lifetime I ate dinner at the kitchen counter looking out through the windows to the porch and into the yard and fields beyond. Each evening zillions of flying bugs would gather on the window, attracted by the kitchen lights. Shortly one or two tree frogs would arrive securing their little suction feet on the windowpane and join me for dinner. I counted them as friends. Frogs might be one of my favorite creatures in the wild, running a close second to birds.

The American tree frog is nocturnal but can often be seen in the daylight resting while camouflaged on a tree limb or in the leaves. They can change their coloring from lime green to shades of brown if need be. In the evening they feed on insects like moths, flies, and even crickets. They also make a distinguishing honk to call a mate or let others know where they are. Their loud honking is sometimes described as sounding like a bell. The frog can repeat his sound seventy-five times in a minute and loves to do so particularly after a rain. Between April and October, the fellow is sounding his mating call. Tree frogs grow to about 2.5 inches and can live six to eight years if he’s lucky. There are predators out there looking for tender tree frogs.       

The tree frogs’ skin is porous and thin, which is handy during the cold months. They can breathe through their skin. Mostly their range of temperature is pretty much the same as ours. Since they are cold blooded creatures, they take on the temperature around them. They can hibernate in deep tree hollows, burrowed under leaves and sometimes on the surface of mud.

The day after the tree frog jumped on my head, I found him on the camellia plant. He didn’t make a move but watched while I did greenhouse chores and talked to him. For several days he camped out right there on the same leaf. About six days later I could find him nowhere. I turned to leave and much to my delight heard his bell sound.

If you don’t have the natural habitat for tree frogs a number of websites sell tree frogs on the internet and in exotic pet stores. Prices range from five dollars to two hundred and fifty dollars. If you’re so inclined, the fellows are quiet pets and eat very little.

Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].