Frogs!

Frogs.

These guys start their lives as tadpoles, a rather strange life that takes about 12 weeks to make the transition from tadpole to frog. Somewhere between six and nine weeks, the tadpole starts sprouting little legs, the head becomes more distinct, the body elongates. Around nine weeks the tadpole looks like a tiny frog.

Understand, though, that a frog emerges from one of 4,000 eggs laid by the mother in a jellylike substance where it develops into a tadpole. Most tadpoles are consumed by predators before they’ve fully metamorphosed into frogs at 12 to 14 weeks of age. The half-dozen or so of the tadpoles from the original 4,000 eggs that survive to adulthood might live 5 to 8 years in the wild.

Esoterically, frogs – like butterflies – are considered to messengers of transformation. And for us over the years, they have proven to be symbols of dire transformation or of incredibly fortunate transformation, depending on the health of the frog and where it’s found.

In 1997, for instance, we returned from a trip and in our family room, found a dead Cuban tree frog. Our daughter, Megan, who was only eight at the time, saw it, and murmured, “Uh-oh, this can’t be good.”

Dead frog, family room: it was obvious. The next day, Rob’s mother called to tell him his father had died.

In 2003, Trish came across a beautiful Cuban tree frog in the kitchen, caught it, and released it outside. Two days later, she was told her novels, Out of Sight, had been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Kitchen: sustenance. Good health: excellent prognosis. Several months later, she won the award.

Over the years, many animals have acted as messengers in just this way. We look at their life cycles for hints about timing, where they’re found for hints about their meaning, and their health (or lack of) for a hint about whether the message is positive, negative, or somewhere in between. Although we have a lot of frogs that are drawn to the windows of our offices because the lights are on, which attract insects, it’s been awhile since a frog has been found inside the house.

Around June 12-13 last month, I found a dead frog in the house at the entrance to the family room from the porch. I didn’t mention it to Rob or anyone else. The frog had been dead for awhile, its body as flat as a postage stamp. Two days later, we learned that Rob’s mother had died and shortly afterward, we left for Minnesota to help settle her affairs.

Today, July 1, I was taking a shower and noticed something near the drain. I’m nearsighted and don’t wear contacts, so there I was in the shower, squinting and crouching to find out what this thing was.

It was a Cuban tree frog!

I turned off the shower, found my glasses, and took a closer look. The frog had been enjoying all that water, was mid-size, and in no particular hurry to move. I got dressed, opened the door to the backyard, and shouted for Rob. “Hey, there’s frog in here in really good shape! Come look!”

He came running in, picked up the frog in a towel, and freed it.

Then, late tonight, another encounter. Rob was headed to bed, I was still at my computer, and heard him call, “Hey, a baby Cuban tree frog!”

I ran out into the living room hallway, where this really small tree frog was hopping around close to the front door. Our cat, Simba, was nearby, watching it with great interest. It was tough to catch, but Rob finally nabbed it and let it outside.

So. We have frog in shower (cleansing) and frog at front door (opportunity knocking?). Is a third frog sighting in the house imminent? If so, that will be the telling.