I have done articles before about frogs being found embedded in stones but I am still going to post this one as I never tire of them.
Singleton Argus 14 Aug 1906 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79595778
Sometimes it seems fairly clear how the frog managed to get into the position it is found in like these posts I have done in the past, a protoplasmic sandstone frog, and this frog who was cruelly sealed up in the cornerstone of a West Texas court house and released, still alive 31 years later.
This frog found inside a block of bluestone is an interesting one and one of those that doesn’t have enough details for us to make up our own minds as to whether the frog actually spent any length of time in the stone or just found its way in there last night.
We don’t hear about these kinds of things in the news anymore do we? I wonder if it means that the well of Frog in a Rock has dried up recently or if people are a little more likely to notice things like convenient cracks in those frog bearing rocks.
Perhaps it is because much of our digging is done by heavy machinery these days. Quarries throughout the world contain poor frogs that have spent eons awaiting rescue. Only seconds after they emerge, blinking in the light, a large tyre squishes them… 😉
I wonder why we don’t have news like this nowadays?
I expect that now people are more likely to question what it is they have seen instead of taking it at face value.
If you report something like that these days I suspect it would be immediately called a hoax and your motives would be called into question. Most people would just keep it to themselves I guess. Pity, this kind of news is infinitely more interesting that celebrity gossip!
Indeed! Which brings me to the question of a recent Nessie sighting. More than one Nessie, eh? That’s something I hadn’t counted on.
Oooh, haven’t seen that one, got a link?
Yep here: http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/scottish-sailor-claims-best-picture-yet-loch-ness-100057921–abc-news-topstories.html
Thanks for the link. It is a good photo, but of what I’m not sure! I would love there to be a family of Nessies out in the Loch, can you imagine how the books would be rewritten if the existence of such a creature was ever proved?
Of course, no matter how many times its existence is disputed people will still live in hope. I would love there to be a strange and huge beast out there somewhere no matter how unlikely it is!
Stories about frogs surviving for some time in rocks have been going for so long perhaps they’re not news anymore or as Metan suggests maybe someone just squelches them.( ouch, sorry) But Nessie, well it’s been mooted for years that s/he must be one of a family to breed and still be around. This begs the question about whether they live in the Loch and can’t stand each other’s company and so swim alone, or whether they live outside the Loch and just visit. That then lead us to ask just where the heck do they live the rest of the time and are they the sea serpents that sightings of used to be in the news on a regular basis?
I think if there was a monster of the Loch there would have to be more than one. Tales of the beast have been around for so long that if only one had really existed I am not sure what would be more amazing, the creature itself or its amazing longevity!
I had to wince at your conclusion Metan. I have found so many frogs in my garden while moving rocks by hand. I save the little guys with great tenderness and hate the thought of how many get, as you say, squished by heavy machinery.
We are the same. Whenever we move an old woodpile or start a burn in the outside fireplace we are careful to make sure that all the little hoppers are carefully scooped up and put in a safer spot.
We actually need to rebuild our back verandah but Frogland is located under there and I am scared that any work will be the end of that little colony, so we just keep putting it off!
Sad to think that any still-existing ‘frog in a rock’ critters are likely to be squished without anyone even noticing, but I think it is a valid assumption to make. 😦
Yeah, it’s amazing where they turn up. I redid a rock retaining wall last spring, just after a lot of rain and they were there under almost every single rock! And now the tadpoles in my pond are supplying the neighbourhood with even more froggies. I love the little beggars. 😀
Yay! I’m glad to hear that you are the local wellspring of polliwogs 🙂 I love them so much.
lol – me too! I think they found their way to my pond from my neighbours small dam and they’ve been here ever since. I just love hearing my resident frog calling females on a warm summer’s night.
During the course of our days there are so many rabbit holes we pass by, so many tiny journeys we ignore. I’m going to the beach tomorrow – where there will always be marvelous things to discover, as long as you take the time to look.
Enjoy your trip to the beach, it is freezing here, a bit of beach weather would be a welcome change!
I love going to the rockpools. The tiny little lives that live in each pond. It is like a thousand little worlds all just waiting to be discovered.
Whenever we go for a bushwalk etc I am the one not noticing that gigantic tree because I am squatting on the ground with my camera! There are so many tiny things there, plants, mushrooms, lichens, insects that most people never even see. I love it when others appreciate the tiny things too 🙂
Frogs get into all kinds of places. We had a frog stuck behind our washing machine once and only found out about it because the cats wouldn’t move from in front of the machine and sat there staring for ages. It was happily released into the garden by my dad.
Lucky it had the sense to stay still and not try to escape while it was being watched by your hungry cats!
We get them inside sometimes in the warm weather. Last summer I was in the kitchen and what I though was a spider darted out towards me. I lifted up my foot to stomp on the audacious little bugger and luckily took a second look before I squished a dusty (my bad housework again 😉 ) frog who was just trying to find its way back outside!
Frogs are one of my favourite animals 😀
All I can think is that you must get some BIG spiders if you mistook a frog for an audacious arachnid 😮
One of the most common spiders we have is a pretty big one, the Huntsman. They are not poisonous but are really fast and dart around in a terrifying fashion. They don’t run away either and are very likely to run right at you… eeek! Their body is not too big but their legs are really long. When a spidery thing as wide as your spread hand comes at you, it doesn’t matter how harmless they, are you just freak! 🙂 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
Our frogs at home are waaaay smaller but when they are jumping with their legs out (and covered in fluff) it is easy to be surprised enough to mistake it for a spider…. That was my excuse anyway. Just glad I didn’t squash it.
Ok. I looked at the link and if THAT ran at me, I would die 😦
And frogs pretending to be spiders, oh man!
I think we are poorer for not hearing these things in the news any more but there is so much bad news which must be conveyed…
I know. It is far more important for us to know which famous person is cheating on their partner than to read about stuff that is actually amusing…