You know how some people have collections that dance on the border of obsession? Like the teenage girl who loves pink so much she doesn’t go a day without it being the central theme of her outfit. Or the kid who collects stuffed animals to the point of near-suffocation at bedtime. What about the girl who loves frogs so much that her bedroom is full of frog figurines, and frog t-shirts, and stuffed frogs, a pet frog, and was even nicknamed Frog because of how she jumps when she plays volleyball??? Oh. That was me…
So, I admit it. I had a bit of a frog fetish in my younger years. I expected most of my birthday and Christmas gifts to have some relation to frogs because, well, everyone knew that’s what I wanted. Needless to say, there are oodles of evidence left over from this past time, somewhat forgotten.
Frogs continue to have a presence in my life even though I’ve been cured of the material mania (though the occasional frog-themed gift still presents itself–like it’s some kind of joke or something.). First of all, one of my favorite taiko songs to play is called č›™ (Frog), written by Stan Shikuma and you get to jump around like a frog when playing it (I love jumping). I can watch frogs forever. I love their dances and their colors.
Recently, with the filling of the rice paddies and the planting begun, frogs have become a part of daily life here. In fact, frogs are a constant by day (watch out for the squashed ones on the road) and audibly a constant by night. Please enjoy a small glimpse of our personal orchestra. There’s a free show every night, so just let us know if you’d like to join us:
In case it won’t play, go here
Another alternative
I didn’t quite capture the dramatic nuance here, but there are moments of silence. That’s the moment when I notice their presence most. And suddenly, miraculously, they start again simultaneously.
