Elders 5 – frogs, trees and eggs

Most had done their homework. Virginia got a frog gold star, producing 3 fascinating facts about frogs

• Frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs out of which 1 in 50 survive. Frogs can survive being frozen, going into a suspended state (like moss). Toads can be 24 hours underwater absorving oxygen through the water into their skin
• The Frog Prinnce may have come from Grimes Fairy Tales but could also be Roman. Roman expression: The man who once was a frog is now a kiing. May refer to Nero who was often mocked as a frog.
• The reputation of a frog bone having properties that could tame a wild horse, comes from a complex process of finding and curing the bone.
  – Catch your frog. Kill it. Leave in on a thorn bush until only the bones remain. Take the skeleton to a river, and whichever bone floats is the bone which tames horses. Keep it in your pocket as you never know when you may need it.
  Hazel, however, disagrees.
• Finally, Virginia produced a most amazing antique of a frog preserved. Given to her aged 10, in Australia. A calcified frot

For the rest of us, we gathered more into our frog basket

• We went to Frogland and found this commentary at Versailles: ‘As a punishment for peasants, they were transformed into frogs.
• My frog days are patchy. Assassinated and dissected at school
• Toads have a magical stone in their head
• Frogs are indicators of the health of the environment. Like a canary, their wellbeing indicates any problems. They are liminal livers, they live between land and water.
• Caroline and Armoral: Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku (Thirty-two Translations and One Commentary)
  Old pond
  frogs jumped in
  sound of water
  or
  Old pond
  Frog jumps
  Plop

The second part of our home work was to draw a frog, then hiding that away, from memory draw that frog! Amazing exercise. As someone said, there are no frogs in drawing books – they are not cuddly enough.

Egg creativity

Some of us created beautiful eggs using wax or tights with plants creating patterns on eggs. Dyes used were red and white onion hibiscus, and turmeric. Tights used were ….(!)

Land science

Some of us went over to the land to measure and be scientists

• How the West Side story was going with Lowestoft and Holton frogs/tadpoles. Tadpoles from Lowestoft now hatched and very active in large communities. Although some played dead.
• Barley hay thrown in by Wil and Peter
• Black poplar measured, along with walnut. Prize goes to Female Black Poplar 23a which despite NO RAIN has grown 5 inches

BPoplar Female 23 a	16	21	5
BPoplar Female 23 b	18	20	2
BPoplar Male 23 a	21	21	0
BPoplar Male 23b	24	24	0
Pride of India	36	39	3
Lime	51	51	0
Ginko
Walnut 1	51	51	0
Walnut 2
Walnut 3	40	44	4
Walnut 4	28	30	2
Walnut 5	32	35	3
Walnut 6	18	19	1

Evidence from Kally’s camera:

A wild insect, photogenic dog, visitors (Linda, Cindy, Bill) caught on camera, and AT LAST, wildlife, at night, Chinese deer, and muntjac, and perhaps a drone – who was looking at our land???

The Lowestoft frogspawn deliverer with the puppy of Mossip, son of Bobji.