TWO FROGS IN THE UMBRELLA

The umbrella stayed down until Sunday, when we wanted to put tung oil on the patio table and chairs to keep the wood well preserved and good looking. So after I wiped the table with mineral spirits to clean the surface, I opened the umbrella up to shade the table.

A frog fell out of the umbrella onto the table as soon as I started cranking and I figured that was the one I had seen on Friday evening. But when I got the umbrella fully open, I noticed a second frog on the metal collar that connects the struts of the umbrella and rides up and down on the pole. So now there were two frogs living in the umbrella. A regular frog family in there. Or at least there had been until I rather rudely dislodged one from his perch.

I tried to catch the little guy on the table so I could return him to his pal, but he would have none of it. The first hop was off the table onto the deck, where we repeated our little pantomime and he ended up in the bed around the deck with the Rose of Sharon bushes. Okay, fine, be that way. You found your way up into the umbrella once, so now we’ll see if you can repeat that performance.

Today (Tuesday) I wanted to put a second coat of tung oil on the table and chairs, so once more I opened the umbrella (I had to close it Monday because a line of thunderstorms was approaching). This time there were two frogs on the umbrella collar and both held on bravely as I raided them up with the umbrella.

They didn’t stay on the collar long, though. Both crawled out onto the aluminum struts of the umbrella and watched me do my work. They’re probably still there, though I am not.

It’s interesting how they made a home out of the inside of a patio umbrella. Certainly it provides good protection from predators, which must be numerous considering their size. Can’t be much food in there for them, so maybe they come out at night and hunt insects or whatever it is they eat. Whatever they do, they must know their way to and fro, because the frog I inadvertently chased into the garden is back. I can’t prove it’s him, but it must be.

08/15/06