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Six Word Photo Story: Freestyle

There are stirrings in the pond.

Frogs. They’re back. Not all of them, but the first dozen have returned to my pond.

I’d seen only one frog last week, and at the weekend our weather changed for the worse. Spring-like warmth was replaced by a minor blizzard, leaving a carpet of snow covering the garden for 24 hours.

Despite the cold, I could see the frog swimming the full length of the pond just a few inches below the surface. With the ease of an Olympic breast-stroke champion, back and forth he went, never seeming to tire.

The next day we experienced monsoon type rain that melted the snow.

It was a sign. My frogs love rain. By late evening I could hear the soft murmurings that told me my lone frog had company. The soothing call-and-answer croaking coming from the pond was another good sign.

In the morning I found the frogs had been busy. A clump of frogspawn was nestling behind new shoots of a marsh marigold. Frogs were having a cuddle — amplexus — the act of mating.

It’s a start, But, where are the others? Usually sixty frogs visit every February to mate. Hopefully they are on their way.

Thanks go to Mary Chang Story Writer for allowing me to promote my frogs this way and for providing the Six Word Photo Story Challenges.

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