I scooped the small frog out of Mandy’s pool. We were meeting at her house for lunch, but she hadn’t shown up yet. I knew she might not, so decided to put my feet in the pool, but when I got there I saw the frog.
I scooped it out of the water and it sat in the palm of my hand not moving. When I tried to put it in the grass, it still didn’t move, no doubt not feeling well from all the chlorine. I was pretty sure it was a leopard frog, and thought to take a picture, only to remember that I didn’t have my iPhone.
Last night Jon and I went out to dinner and I left my bag in the restaurant. When we got home the rain had begun and we dashed into the house. I only realized I didn’t have my bag, which had my iPhone, wallet and glasses in it, when I wanted to take a picture of the rainbow that arched over the farm after the rain.
The restaurant was closed by then and wouldn’t open again till 4 o’clock the next day.
So instead of taking a picture, I memorized what the frog looked like. The tan body with darker oblong spots, the striped legs of the same color. How his ear was smaller than his eye and a long pale orange stripe ran from the top of the eye all the way down the frogs side.
I can still see it.
Mandy never showed up. She had been texting me all morning to let me know she needed to change the time of our lunch date.
When we spoke later on Jon’s phone, she said she was planning for us to sit at the pool and we would rescue the frogs together.
How dependent I’ve become on my iPhone. It is so much a part of my personal life and so important to my creative life and to my business.
Not having it threw my whole day off. Even though I knew where it was, not being able to talk to someone at the restaurant and make sure they had it, kept me nervous until I was able to pick it late this afternoon.
The young woman who brought me my bag, was worried that I’d been without my iPhone for so long. As much as I missed it, I can imagine it would have been worse of her than it was for me. Unlike her, I’ve lived most of my life without it.
This morning when I got out of bed, Jon handed me his iPhone. He knew I’d want to take pictures, maybe a video, when I went out to take care of the animals.
And I did. It took the video of the frogs singing and the picture above as well as a few others.
While I was still not certain that I’d get my bag back, I thought of all the people in the past few days who have been flooded out of their homes in Vermont not far from the farm.
I could replace everything in my bag if I had to. It would be annoying, time consuming and expensive, but I knew it could be so much worse.
Maria, I love how you take the time to learn the names of all the flora and fauna on your farm. I always felt the need to name things especially what is often overlooked or dismissed as “weeds”. I’ve never felt the need with amphibians or insects so always respect your full immersion in your environment by naming all its creatures. Once I can name the humblest plant I feel it becomes a friend- because it has a name. (Same with birds). And then being in nature is being with all my friends. You obviously have befriended the plants and creatures in your world and I so enjoy your sharing with us!
That is such a lovely way to think about it Lois. I think it helps me to notice what I haven’t before. Not that I remember all the names right away, but they usually come back to me. 🙂