Release Day

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about catching a little tadpole. We named him Tad and settled in to watch the extraordinary transformation. We don't know exactly how old he was when we caught him, but since the pond didn't exist until several days before, he couldn't have hatched more than a couple days before. His head was about the size of a pencil eraser and his tail slightly longer than his body. He would swim around his little enclosure, especially hiding under the rocks and plants we placed for him.

We researched online about what to feed tadpoles, but in the end decided that it would be best to go across the street and get fresh pond water and plants daily. That seemed to provide enough for his daily needs. On the fourth day, we noticed tiny leg buds at the spot near his tail. At this point, his tail started to become translucent, losing its blood supply. A day later, his legs were easily identifiable. Then we noticed front legs. His tail was still long but most of it was nearly transparent. As his front and back legs grew, his tail began to disappear.

By the beginning of the second week, Tad look more like frog than tadpole. He has clear front legs and back legs and a short tail. We learned that he would officially turn into a froglet when he lost his gills and could breathe on land. At this point, he would prefer to be out of water. This happened between day 11 and 12. One day he was in and out of the water, clinging to the leave or crawling out on the rock, but still preferring to swim. The following day, he was on land more than he was in the water.

On day 12 Tad was undeniably a froglet still with a bit of a tail. On day 13 he was completely a frog, a tiny perfect frog. He had a frog face and the beginnings of the banded bullfrog coloring. His sticky feet allowed him to climb the sides of his enclosure. He could no longer survive on microscopic plant matter in pond water. He was now a carnivore. The time had come to let him go.

On Thanksgiving morning, 13 days after we had caught him, we walked across to the pond and released little Tad back into the pond. It had been amazing to watch him change. The tiny frog was no bigger than his head had originally been. The process had not added to his bulk, but rather taken away unnecessary bits and replaced others. I can hardly believe it all happened in such a short time. While we will never know exactly what will happen to Tad, we imagine he will live a happy life. He will hop around the pond, bury himself in the mud, catch ants to eat. Next rainy season, when we hear the banded bullfrogs' "oom-bpee," Tad will be joining the chorus.

Don't Wish to Switch Places

First Corinthians tells us "there is no temptation except what is common to man..." Sometimes it can feel like our challenges and difficulties are unique. That no one else is facing the same struggles we are. Satan wants us to feel alone and weak, but it is simply not so. I believe a very common struggle for people today is to see posts on Facebook or blogs (or email newsletters) and think that everyone else has a wonderful life with few problems. After all, people don't (and maybe shouldn't) around telling the world about the hard times in their lives. Even when we do share struggles, we might sugar coat them to sound more spiritual or less complaining.

Now I do have a blessed life, living next to the sea in Thailand with five wonderful children and a loving husband. But I struggle with living overseas with five challenging children and a less than perfect husband. I see pictures of people on vacation or with groups of girlfriends or with homeschool groups, and I want what they have. Then I realize that people see my pictures and posts of darling children, interesting wildlife, and fun, family adventures; and they might want what I have. So lest you want to switch into my life, here are some not so great things.

I am lonely. I have one English speaking friend living nearby. We met not long ago so we are still in the new friend stage and not close yet. We are both busy with our children and ministries and don't always get to see each other regularly. I am thankful for her, as this is an improvement over the no friends I had before. If you go to an English-speaking church or have many English-speaking friends living near you, be thankful for them and don't wish to switch places with me.

I homeschool and teach Sunday school. I am responsible for all five of my children every moment of every day. Philip takes the kids to Nakhon Si Thammarat City approximately every two weeks (in reality it happens a bit less often) giving me an afternoon to myself. This is more than I had before we moved here, so I am extremely thankful for this time. If your kids have a Sunday School teacher (or nursery worker) or school teacher that is not you, be thankful for them and don't wish to switch places with me.

I hang dry my laundry even on rainy days. As I hung laundry on a clothes rack in front of the fan the other day, I couldn't remember how people in the U.S. dried laundry in inclement weather. I didn't remember many American homes with large fans around. I remembered wood stoves in some houses which would be useful. Then I remembered - clothes dryers! If you have a clothes dryer (or a dish washer), be thankful for it and don't wish to switch places with me.

I have a very small round counter top oven. I am very thankful for this because before I got it for my birthday a couple years ago, I had no oven, just a two burner stove. It takes me twice as long to back the two layers of birthday cake or enough pie or bread or any baked good to feed my hungry family. I can't put a large casserole in the oven for supper or bake potatoes and squash together. If you have a full sized American oven which can roast a turkey, be thankful for it and don't wish to switch places with me.

Each person has their own set of blessings and own set of struggles. God has paired them uniquely for each of us in a way that will grow us and stretch us while giving us the encouragement that we need. I should not wish for your blessings any more than I would wish for your challenges. I accept with joy the blessings God daily pours out, and I will accept the troubles He allows. I won't wish to switch places with you!

A Menagerie

This week has brought buckets of rain, as well as a few new creatures to our menagerie. It rained most of the day yesterday, sheets sweeping in from the sea. Interestingly, we had no wind. We measured 1 3/4 inches in our rain gauge, but we set it out after much of the rain had already past.  Before this, it had rained every night in the wee hours of the morning and nearly every afternoon for a week. All this rain has created a pond in a grassy hollow across the street, between the road and the beach. At night, the honking croak of banded frogs mixes with the crash of the waves to lull us to sleep.

During a short lull in the rain yesterday afternoon, we rain across the street to the beach to see the waves up close. Just as we were about to go, I heard a rustling in the garage. Peering around the bicycles and under shelves, I noticed a bright flicker of color. It was a bird! We all had a close look, and tried to remember the pattern of colors for looking it up when we returned from the beach. I had a guess already, but I wanted to look in the bird book first.

 Over supper we had a discussion and identified the bird as a Blue-winged Pitta. He (or she - they can't be easily distinguished) stayed in our garage all night. This afternoon we were trying to decide if we should help him. Maybe get some worms and soil in a tub and place it near him. I wanted to catch some photos, and while I was out there, he finally decided he'd been bothered by humans enough. He hopped onto a shelf and flew out directly over my head into freedom.

The other addition to our menagerie is tiny and swims instead of flies. He is not as colorful as the pitta but should prove as interesting. We explored the temporary pond as part of science class today. We traversed the perimeter, noting a multitude of wildlife. Swimming caterpillars and crickets caught our attention since we didn't know they could swim. We spied myriads of tadpoles and water skippers. Bright red dragon flies dipped overhead. Ants scurried to move their eggs as the rising water encroached on their home. A small water monitor lizard quickly glided away from us.

We waded into the edge of the pond and studied the tadpoles more carefully. They would rise from the bottom, pop to the surface, then quickly dive back down. We later read that they get food such as algae and other plant matter from the surface and draw it back down to the bottom. Meriel tried to use a clean peanut butter jar to catch one but was unsuccessful. Then Eris took a turn. After a couple of jarfuls of water without tadpoles, she managed to scoop one up.

The pond water which we brought home for the tadpole contains many other creatures. I wish we had a microscope to look more carefully at the little swimming black dots. We have an unidentified black worm which twists around to swim from side to side. One little creature appears to be a damselfly nymph, but we are not certain yet. We hope to be able to observe our little tadpole turn into a froglet and continue visit the pond across the street to see what happens to the other tadpoles.

On Our Back Porch

Sunday morning a neighbor stopped by to let us know that the bunch of bananas hanging over the wall were ripe and ready to be cut down. After cutting the bunch, I put it on the little table on our covered back porch. I didn't bring them in the house because juice dripped from the severed stalk. As the bananas ripened during the week, the kids (especially Calla) helped themselves. They weren't the only ones.

Our little back porch turned into a miniature ecosystem. Common mynas and Yellow-vented bulbuls perched on the bunch and pecked into the fruit. The punctured peels allowed ants and fruit flies to enjoy a snack. In the evening, beautiful moths inserted their proboscises into the softening flesh while frogs and geckos feasted on the attracted insects. Meriel happily harvested ants to feed to her "pet" Banded bullfrog.

By simply cutting a bunch of bananas, we were able to enjoy a host of visitors right on our porch. (I was happy it wasn't in the house.) I had thought they might attract ants; which was another reason I left them on the porch. I didn't think about the other creature it would draw. It was fun to spy on the birds from the window. The moths let us sneak up fairly close to actually see what they were doing. After they flew away, we looked carefully to see the little holes they drilled. The children were as thrilled as I to watch this real life drama unfold.

Today Calla snitched the last good bananas and the rest were put in the compost heap. It is nice to have our table clear for a little while, but I'm looking forward to the next time we have some extra fruit to share with those who share our garden. We might even try to purpose attract butterflies, moths, and birds in some way. Hooray for our garden and for science lessons!