In Tune With Nature

   A  couple years back, the husband and I decided to purchase the property adjacent to ours. I was ecstatic because not only did this property offer new and wonderful acreage for me to plant more gardens, but it also had a pond!

   Little did I know that the pond was not a fish pond or a duck pond, as I had originally thought. Turns out that this lovely, serene little pond was home to an enormous family of frogs. Gazillions of them!

   There must have been five generations of these bug-eyed, slimy green monsters.

   Well, I told my darling husband that I didn't expect the frogs to be a problem for me and, in fact, the frogs would be a great teaching tool for my granddaughter. Afterall, didn't we all have the pleasure of learning about the evolution of frogs in school. From tadpole to monster frog? And, who can forget the long-awaited day in science class where we got to disect a frog!! I know I upchucked my lunch that day and never seemed to look at frogs the same since.

   One glorious spring morning I decided to run down to my favorite plant shop and buy some geraniums to plant in a new patch. Down on my knees with my gardening tools, soil, fertilizer and watering can I plopped all geared up to start a brand new beautiful garden.

   For this gardener, there is nothing better than having the warm springtime sun lightly caressing the back of my neck as I bend over to dig a hole for the next plant to go into. I usually work in my gardens with my headphones on, depending on my mood whatever genre is playing, the music is always loud.

   On this particular day, I was jamming to my favorite reggae artist, Bob Marley. My favorite song came on, Three Little Birds, so I turned the music up even louder and really got into it. I suppose one could say that I was in tune with Nature and it felt good.

   As I reached for the next geranium and proceeded to put it into the hole,  suddenly something moved. Well, at first I thought it was another green leafed plant that may have been touched by me or maybe the light wind had moved it. But, no! There in the hole that I had just finished digging were two of the biggest eyes I had ever seen staring up at me! It was a mammoth frog, the biggest, nastiest thing that I had ever laid my eyes on! I screamed and flung the dainty red geranium to the ground and bolted toward the house.

   In my haste to get to safety, about three feet from where I was planting, I nearly stepped on another frog!

   I clumsily dropped my headphones to the ground and then was startled by a chorus of frogs. They were everywhere I turned;  to the right in the vegetable patch, to the left in my daisies, and straight ahead on the deck!

   Good God, how dare these frogs disturb my serenity! Hubby, half awake and quite disturbed by my piercing screams, came running from the house to see what had happened.

   "Where's the bear or is it a snake?" he inquired.

   I shrieked, "Honey! There's a frog over there!! And, look! They're everywhere! Do something!"

   The look that my spouse gave me was even worse than the grimace that the King  frog had given me. My husband frowned and said, "you've got to be kiddin me!"

   Then proceeded to go back into the house. I was left to fend for myself, to rid my beautiful yard of the attacking, hopping, noisey, nasty frightening creatures.

©by Miriam L. Jacobs.

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