March 1, 2006

Spring in the Valley of the Frogs

Every day, it's getting warmer and warmer as spring approaches. Today, the temperature broke into the 70's. And when I walk the dogs, I can hear frogs -- lots and lots of frogs. Or maybe they're toads. I haven't seen them yet, but there are several creeks and ponds nearby in between the ridges here in north Knoxville, and our house is near the head of the stream than runs west to join up with Third Creek.

The audio link above was the closest one I could find to what I hear all day and all night outside. But the calls are a little shorter and higher-pitched than the one recorded there, and it sounds like "creek-creek-creeeeeeeek!" Animals, like humans, have local dialects, so it's possible these toads have a different accent than the ones that were recorded above. In the house, it's a very faint noise outside, but when I'm out, it's quite loud.

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