Happy Father's Day!

on frogs dads & green hats

We spent part of this week scooping tadpoles out of a nearly dried-up puddle, and relocating them to a calm stream where we see frogs thriving. We kept a few—well, more than a few—which are now swimming in two big jars on our deck.

Mostly, the frogs who live near us leave their eggs in some water and hope for the best. But in some frog species—about ten percent—the tadpoles require enormous care to help them make it to maturity. Often these are frogs that hatch their eggs in leaf litter instead of in water.

Male Darwin’s Frogs, which live in Chile and Argentina, appear to swallow their babies, a few tadpoles at a time. Actually they’re nurturing them in their vocal sacs—when the tadpoles become frogs, the dads spit them out!

Male glass frogs, which live in the rain forests of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia, protect their eggs by watching them very, very closely —and kicking any predators that comes close.

Poison dart frog dads ferry their young to safety, sometimes going the extra frog mile to make it to a more promising pond.

And smooth guardian frog dads, in Borneo, attend so closely to their eggs that scientists observing them had to check to be sure the cameras were still rolling. Once the eggs are ready to hatch (after ten days), they shake them to help the tadpoles emerge, then carry them on their backs to safety.

Hopefully, the dads you know are just as devoted.

Bea and Harriet’s Grandpa Allen is always thinking of their safety (including the dangers of hot slides on a sunny day!) and is endlessly gentle.

Their Grampa Boggs designed and helped build the house where they live and will likely teach them to drive when they’re twelve or thirteen!

And their dad makes up songs for them, ferries them all the places they need to go, and helps look out for the world they are growing up in.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures… and for anyone who has a hard time on Father’s Day, hugs to you.