Frogs and Toads

Frogs and Toads, snakes on the road
I remember walking down the Farm lane from the school bus seeing creatures on the road and along the mesmerizing South Elkhorn creek as I was growing up . A poem of sorts:
Trickling babbling water
Flowing over ancient stones
Flipping them over to see what’s below
Snails and slime and many creatures that I can’t name
All a menagerie, none were the same
The Dobson fly larvae living in the fastest current in the gravels
Go Devils they’re call , so aptly named
Sharp pinchers on both end with a slippery slimy middle
Great fishing bait for small mouth bass ,put on the griddle
Or cook on a spit while camping out
Scale the fish but leave the skin on
The flavor is best, helped with the smoke from the small fire
Catching the sunfish will certainly inspire
These beautiful creek fish are to be admired
The long eared sunfish of iridescent color
More beautiful than any other
Rock bass or Red eye a meaty little fish
With corn on the cob it’s a great dish
Shiners are fun to catch
Green sunfish and bluegill too.
Always something to see and do
Water strider walk on water, always in the summer Creek
Strange insects folded long legs along tree twigs over water
Webs in the branches that cling to your face
Bugs fly in your mouth- don’t have much taste
Red worms and night crawlers come out at night
Catch them for bait If your timing is right
Saw a hornets nest with a papery shell
Leave it alone I new all to well
Stinging nettle and poison ivy that goes for too.
Fox squirrels scurrying on the ground and in the trees
They make nest to, out of leaves
Chasing each others bushy tails
They hide when they hear a hawks cry
Squirrels keep one eye to the sky
Lately we see a few bald eagles
Amazing raptor to me
I thought, along the Creek I’d never see
Watch closely in the summer and see the snakes
Turtles on rocks and logs, sliding into the water
A few years ago we filmed a family of otters !
Mink and beaver have been spotted too
Muskrat live along the Creek in holes in the banks
At night the great horned owl say “ Who who “
The little screech owls one red ,one gray
Came to screech in the camp fire light after passed the day
As the stars come out we start counting them
Soon my young sons say “ to many to count”
The weather cools the fall colors come
The pretty reflections on the riffles are second to none
Ducks migrate in ,geese too
They will use the creek as a B&B
Floating the creek in my canoe
The best things on earth to see
The brilliant colors fall as leaves into the water
The trees stand naked in the winter breeze
I pile on cloths to keep me warm
Still the Creek is a lure in the frigid air
Lakes and ponds freeze over but the creek stays open
I fished one day in January
Waded in the shallows in insulated boots
A kingfisher dove in three feet from me
I could hear his strange cackle coming from his roost on a tree
He came up with a fry in his beak
The blue on the water was a reflection from the sky
Black ducks flew over , then hid near a log jam
As I came beside then they flew out all at once
I had a little luck and caught one fish
But the real treat was the experience
A bitterly cold winter the Creek froze over
We’d walk on top the ice
A long slide here and there that was nice
Deer would startle and quail would flush
Walking on ice , never rush
The ice was thin my dog fell through
Which tremendous effort she pulled herself out
With her icy coat we headed straight home
To the house we went straight in
Her coat thawed and I used a towel
And she was warm again .
Comes the spring
Squirrels eat the buds
Many creatures have lost their winters fat
Though the grass grows and trees leaf out
The creatures are still hungry ,there is no doubt.
The cycle and stories continues