The little frogs move on shore to feed and hide. It's strawberry time. I found a big old toad resting under the leaves when I was picking the sweet fruits. Toads are good at keeping a garden free of worms and insect pests. The heat of the summer sun dries up many shallow ponds by late June.
Tadpoles stranded by the drought become food for raccoons, mink, and a variety of birds.
Fortunately, some of the froglets developed legs and lungs before the water disappeared. One morning I search the nearby woods and wetland edges and find several Chorus Frogs and a Wood Frog hiding under leaves in a cluster of mossy rocks. Look out ants, beetles, flies, and spiders. A green Gray Treefrog and a striped Monarch caterpillar shared the same leaf on a milkweed plant in the butterfly garden. What a beautiful combination of greens.