frog hunting

We went and did our standard warm weather activity today...finally. Liv has been itching to do it since Spring hit. We had bought brand new aluminum handled trout nets for just this purpose - invasive frog hunting.

The only frogs we are supposed to have around here are the Pacific Tree frog. Unfortunately, someone let a few breeding American Bullfrogs and Green Frogs go in a lake down island years and years ago. Not a lot of forethought went into this decision as they frogs have been eating their way up island for quite some time now. They eat our indigenous tree frogs, small ducklings and other natural fauna. Although I am a frog lover, these guys are not too high on my list of favourites.
So today, we headed out with our nets and gumboots to catch us some bullfrogs. Liv has got it into her sweet little head that the woman who picks them up from us returns them to where they 'came from'....I suppose this is right, in a sense....

They don't seem to be in full swing yet, though, and we only managed to catch the one...Okay, I only managed to catch the one. There were more and I admit I am quite greedy with trying to catch them. Liv SO wants to try but she seems to freak them out with her wildly waving net and they hop away before my little love catches any. It's kind of like a video game. You don't want to hand over the controller until you get just. one. more.

We found this snake that has definitely seen better days. He was blind in one eye, his belly was all scarred and had a twisty looking mouth. But he posed nicely for his photo shot and then quickly slithered away. We saw four of them within ten metres! It was a little snake party!

The kids threw rocks off a bridge and I practiced playing with the various settings on my camera in preparation of our dear friend's wedding that I'm taking pictures for. Wish me luck!