Nature's Place

It was late at night and I was delighted to see the little frog climbing on the glass door. It happens when it rains for a time that the frogs come to the house for shelter and I am always glad to see them.

It is an acknowledgment of nature and the simple good. That they come, and that I am glad. One is not separate from the other. There is a little more of the good in me for the acknowledgment, the appearance in sense. Inner sense.

The sense of sight, touch, of caring. A sense of love.

A clarity, a shimmering of the place in the psyche where such things be. A magical place, I dare say. But not the silly and destructive ‘magic’ humans get up to.

Queenie was showing an interest in him so I shooed her away. The cats don’t harm the green frogs because the green frog’s primary tactic in danger is to be still. The cats need the excitement of the chase and they soon lose interest without it.

After I took a few pix I picked him up and closed my hand around him, gently but firmly, so he wouldn’t jump from a height to the solid floor and injure himself. If he would, they are extremely resilient creatures. But no sense in risking it. He struggled a little but gave up soon enough as there was no way out of my hand till I opened it.

I’m sure he could look after himself well enough but I thought I’d give him a helping hand, carefully. He came to me and there was something I could do for him. Why? Why not?

Still, I didn’t want to leave the frog on the barren side of the house where there is little cover or prospect of food. And though I’m sure he could always find shelter at the front I have set the back of the house up so it provides more for the needs of frogs.

So I took him out back to the shelter of the stag fern and after I opened my hand and he got his bearings he jumped for the cover and welcoming presence of nature.

He was too quick for me and disappeared before I could track him. That happens when I have an eye on the camera.

I do love to get pictures of the creatures in the nature they come from. But you can’t have everything and everything has its time.

He will live a while in the jungle of my back yard and I am pleased with that. We may meet again too, you never know.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery