Wood frog
Waldfrosch
This morning we found a frog in our small backyard pool! Quite a sight! We watched it and then found a little creek to put it in.
Heute morgen haben wir einen Frosch in unserem Plantschbecken gefunden. Ein lustiger Anblick! Wir haben ihn beobachtet und dann in einen kleinen Bach gesetzt.
A few hours later, we heard lots of noise from a bunch of crows in our neighbor's tree. Our bird expert Jonathan was gone in a flash and came back telling us that a Great Horned Owl was sitting in the tree! It was well hidden and it was impossible to take a picture of. The whole day it stayed in the tree, but at dusk it flew away to find some food.
Ein paar Stunden später hörten wir ganz lautes Krähenkrächzen aus dem Baum beim Nachbarn. Unser Vogelkenner Jonathan lief sofort nach draußen und nach einigem langen Beobachten durch das Fernglas, hat er einen Virginia-Uhu gefunden! Leider war er so versteckt, daß man ihn nicht fotografieren konnte. Den ganzen Tag saß er da, erst als die Dämmerung einbrach, machte er sich auf Futtersuche. Ganz schön spannend für alle.
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| Great Horned Owl |
Wie interessant! Ich höre in der Nacht manchmal Eulen oder Käuze rufen, da wir jetzt mit weit geöffnetem Fenster schlafen, leider habe ich sie aber noch nicht gesehen.
ReplyDeleteGehört habe ich diesen Uhu noch nicht, nur gesehen, also genau umgekehrt :).
DeleteThat's very exciting! And the pool you have is really very nice. The frog thought so too :) We used to have a similar small pool when we lived in Brooklyn. We had the ground floor of a brownstone and the girls loved going outside onto the back patio. I did too. The only thing we didn't have was sunshine. Now we have sun in the apartment but no outdoor space . . except for the courtyard downstairs (which is quite exceptional to have in Manhattan!)
ReplyDeleteThe owl was back today! The children are all quite exited, the crows are not, they are angry, but the owl does not care. I would leave if I had those loud crows flying around me all day long :). So nice you used to have a pool. We always had one when I was growing up. And a sprinkler, which was the main attraction for about 20 children to come and visit us in the summer. The whole neighborhood had fun in our backyard. Can you use the courtyard or is it just "decorative"?
DeleteWhat a story. I love frogs and owls. Especially owls since they have been my spirit animal since I was five years old.
ReplyDeleteNow you have to tell me what a spirit animal is :). Whenever I hear owls I think somebody is about to die or has died. Is that what you mean?
DeleteA spirit animal is representative of the traits, abilities, characteristics you are meat to learn/develop/have. It is a compass and a guardian if you will.
DeleteThe owl is seen as quiet, observant, have ancient wisdom, be intuitive, courageous, and link to the spirit world.
It's a non-christian thing.
Interesting, so is this similar to native American ideas about animals?
DeleteAnimism. One of the world's oldest forms of spirituality. Interestingly I've always had my spirit animal connection even when I was actively seeking out the Catholic faith. Strangely enough I have always had a strong real life connection to these majestic birds as well. The boarding school I went to had the dorms on the top floor and large owls often ended up flying into a dorm room during the day time when the crows chased them. I was the only one who was able to go into those rooms and corridors, often mere feet away from fearsome beaks and talons to open windows for them to leave when dusk came. With me these birds didn't exhibit the threatening behavior we saw with other individuals. I suspect my body language was different and I didn't smell of fear.
DeleteThat must have been a fascinating experience! being so close to them. I have some childhood memories with doves and my grandmother. When I was little I was with her a lot and somehow I remember doves as being part of those times. When we went for a walk, I would always hear and see doves. When she lay dying and I had a chance to visit her in Germany, she could not talk anymore. I was so sad, I could only hold her hand. I talked to her, but I don't know if she heard me or not. On one of those days, I saw a dove outside sitting on a tree close to her apartment in the nursing home. All of a sudden I knew that her death would not be the end, but that she would still be there. I felt comforted all of a sudden. When she actually died, I was back in the States and right around her death I saw a dove. When her sister died, I again saw a dove. So for me, doves have something to do with the spirits of people I love and are comforting. Maybe that is a bit similar to the owls.
DeleteEva, yes I think it is very similar. I can also imagine, that as a Christian, the gentle dove holds a deep meaning for you. How lovely your memories.
DeleteTo me the doves are very calming when I see them. My dad always hated them (and still does) because their waste destroys many old buildings.
DeleteSchöne Beobachtungen! Und nun wisst ihr, dass man in eurem Planschbecken auch schwimmen kann :) Lustigerweise hat sich im kleinen Naturteich, denn wir anzulegen versuchen auch ein Frosch angesiedelt vor ein paar Tagen.
ReplyDeleteDas ist wirklich lustig, daß Ihr auch einen Frosch habt! Aber ein Teich soll ja auch welche haben, ein Schwimmbad wohl nicht.
DeleteJa, nur hat es bis jetzt nur 10 cm Wasser in unserem Naturteich, weil wir es noch nicht geschafft haben ihn wasserdicht hinzukriegen. Also wohl noch weniger Wasser als im Planschbecken :)
DeleteDas ist vielleicht doch zu wenig. Habt Ihr eine Plane in den Teich gelegt?
DeleteNein, wir möchten den Teich mit Lehm abdichten. Wir haben hier sehr lehmige Böden. Aber so ganz richtig ist unsere Technik wohl noch nicht oder dann ist unser Lehmboden nicht gut genug. Wir arbeiten weiter an diesem spannenden und lehrreichen Projekt.
DeleteMit Lehm! Da wüßte ich gar nicht, wie das gehen sollte. Also viel Erfolg dabei!
DeleteDanke!
DeleteMir ist eingefallen, daß unser Boden hier auch so ist, doch benutzen die Leute, die künstliche Teiche anlegen, immer Plastik.
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