A Story About Stump: Cohabitating with a Bullfrog

I have a bullfrog. Well, actually, I have seven bullfrogs. But this isn't a story about Jeremiah, Grenouille, Treeco, PollyFrog, PollyWog or Pisquat. It is a story about Stump.

Three years ago Uncle Randy took Marmot (aka Justin) and Turtle Boy (aka Devon) up to a foothills pond to "catch frogs". No “frogs” were caught on this particular day, instead the team of three came back to the house with a bucket full of tadpoles and two crawdads. Apparently the bunch thought it would be fun to set them free in our backyard pond.

Now, clearly the crawdads weren't allowed in the pond (and their story will surface in another story in the future), but the bullfrog tadpoles all 20+ of them were slowly lifted from the bucket and moved into the pond.

As the tadpoles were set free, I joked with Uncle Randy about the “Herd O’ Ugly BullFrogs” I would now have. His response? None of the tadpoles would reach adulthood. He believed that they would all be eaten by the koi - who were now swarming near the boys like customers at a sushi bar who had been told their next order was free. I was utterly horrified.

Now, with my first line of this message, you in fact know that Uncle Randy was wrong. In fact, 7x wrong...because one day while telecommuting, I had just exited a terrible call. I walked out of the house to catch a breath . Looking at the pond, I was surprised to find two eyes staring at me. A young bullfrog was on one of the lily pads (exhibit #1). I immediately ran into the house and called my colleague who had been on the call with me moments ago and blurted "I have a bullfrog in my pond!" Not surprising, my colleague simply laughed at me.

The other bullfrogs popped up like daisies over the next couple of months, but that first bullfrog (even though he was the smallest) was always present. He wouldn't run away and hide like the other bullfrogs, but would stay planted—sunning himself on top of the lily pads. When we walked up to the pond or sat by the edge, he would turn his head towards us and watch us intently (exhibit #2).

And then it happened. The boys and I watched a Discovery channel show about bullfrogs, only to find out that bullfrogs eat everything they can catch. Flying insects, birds, lizards, and even each other. AHHHH! That is when the mass feeding began.

Our thought was if we fatten Stump up - he wouldn't be a product of cannibalization. We started to catch bugs. We fed him every night. And to no surprise, by month three, he was waiting for us at night by the edge of the pond for his dinner (exhibits #3, #4, #7 and #8).

Last fall, I was scared because he hadn’t gone into hibernation. When he finally went into hibernation, I was scared that he wouldn’t come out. My husband teased me endlessly, “If you are this way with a frog, what it going to happen when the kids leave for college?” Kids leave? Huh? The warm weather brought Stump out of hibernation and to our excitement he had not abandoned his beggin' ways. He also has picked up a couple other bad habits: he loves swimming in the pool (exhibits #5 and #6) which require “pool rescue units” (ok, the boys) to be called in and he often mistakes fingers and toes for food.

In all seriousness and as silly as it feels to admit, Stump has been an absolute joy for my family and I. Watching him develop, I have reflected a lot on a variety of topics. Now, grab your bag of “bugs” as I share with you a couple. I like to call them “Stumpisms”:

1. Gauge someone’s character on how they are (not who/what they are)
2. Don’t discount first impressions, but don’t define someone by them
3. Don’t discount the small things—they can turn into the greatest of things
4. Live in the present—let go! Enjoy the moment
5. Just because you never have, doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t
6. Be patient. Good things come
7. Be trustworthy. Trust makes all the difference in a relationship
8. Think big!
9. There are no guarantees in this life — we will be here for the amount of time allotted—no longer, no less
10. Of course, there is also one about not chewing with your mouth open....especially when your diet consists of slugs and snails.

Thanks for letting me share
~ stacy