Southern Leopard Frog

My mom brought me these tadpoles in late March to raise. Her friend picked them up in brackish water near a road she walks on daily.  We didn't know what kind of tadpoles they were until recently.

The transformation of a tadpole into a frog is slow but their change is a great lesson we can watch and learn from.

What you see is not always what you are.

We are always becoming - transforming...

and like the frog it doesn't always happen overnight.

At some point though the time comes when we are ready to breathe the air and leave the water - to begin a new life.

This one is the last of the the tadpoles that made it to the point of leaving the water.

I hope they stick around!

Morning

This is the first morning I have been able to get outside for morning sounds in the garden in two weeks. The garden is dry in spite of the contour beds that hold the water well.

Some rain would be nice.

The bird baths need water daily...

the squirrels have eaten all the bird seed...

and insects zoom every which way.

The wren is upset because one of our cats is lying near her nest...

and the tadpoles I've been raising are almost ready to leave the water.

I love mornings - even hot summer mornings. 

Day 265

My life is rich in teachers and special spots.

My most joyful days are spent exploring the earth, listening to children, and being fully alive in my body.

I believe if we want to build a world where we take care of our planet we have to fully engage with it - we have to get it in and explore it - we have to become a PART of it and we have to start somewhere - each and every one of us.

Even if we don't do it for ourselves we should do it for the generations who will stand upon our shoulders.

We each have our own way to commune with life.

I sit and listen.

Children play.

Elders teach.

How do you commune?