We’ve had a consistently wet summer in Tennessee, great for plants and even better for amphibians. Pools and streams that dry up in most years have remained wet, allowing many larval amphibians to grow up without their lives being cut short, as they so often are, by dry spells. Once metamorphosed and on land, the youngsters find a moist world. Most welcoming.

A careful eye will discern legions of young frogs and toads loping and bouncing in tangles of vegetation. Here is a young Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) warming itself in the sun before plunging back under the shady leaves. The animal is small enough that it could sit comfortably on a penny. For photos of the adults and eggs, and sound recordings of the breeding males, see my previous posts here and here.