Surprise in the Kitchen

Another mouth to feed in the Kitchen

by Schroeder

Just returned from my early morning walk in the garden, flowers blooming, perennials breaking ground, peach blossoms falling, birds singing, and there is a frog in my kitchen. There he stood, eye to eye with my trusting hound. But that lasted only a second. Soon there was a big chaos amid by morning paper and diet coke. The Scottie try to surround the tiny frog creature, wondering what frog would taste like for breakfast. The frog had other ideas! The scottie was quick but the frog could move too. But the pot with the lid scooped up the green amphibian before any blood hit the floor.

Ahh, the hand and pot is faster than nature's creatures. Prey and predator must try another time for their competition. The frog is outside and the dog is still hunting for that pot with the delicious live food. He was a cute little frog, but where did he come from? Every spring it happens, you would think I would get use to it. All the creatures that hibernate over winter in my big plant pots wake up when the weather gets warm. I get quite a few snails, and usually one frog every other spring.

I like the frogs (tree frogs) but the snails meet the heel of my shoes. Yuck!

What's New?

This morning I had a little surprise waiting for me in the garden. As usual I was taking my early garden tour when I happen upon a new arrival. At first I couldn't see it because it was hiding underneath the hosta shoots. But there it was all purple and shining in the morning light. My new plant was only two inches high, but it's unusual leaf shape was a dead give away. It was the first born of my Japanese Maple (Bloodgood) and kind of a shy little fellow.

I have never seen a Japanese Maple seedling before, so I don't know anything about it's genetic package. Do they reproduce Japanese maples by cloning? Or do the producers use the old methods of planting seeds? I guess what I'm asking will the little maple grow to look like its mother or some variation of an ancestor. It doesn't really matter, I've got the time to watch him develop into anything it wants to be. But I do feel some kind of pride, like I should pass out cigars or something.