Not a toad in a hole!

Dear Diary,

My dear friend Olga came and picked me up so I could go visit their beautiful pond up on the mountain.  Even if I was feeling well they always pick me up because the road to their cabin is pretty rough and requires a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle.  It is well worth the rough ride because the pond is a sanctuary for frogs and turtles.  I try to make a frog portrait every year.

I wasn't able to get out into the kayak to paddle around and look for swimming frogs.  I just strolled the shore and found this huge fellow tucked into a little gap between the rocks looking out into the world like an amphibian hermit in his cave.  I thought immediately of "toad in the hole" and other quirky English dishes - "bubble and squeak" and of course "bangers and mash".  It really amazes me what pops into my mind sometimes.

I've added another photo of Olga's husband Ken photographing a frog on the other side of the little pond.  I just loved the light and reflections.  The late day light is always best here.  Olga is a painter and gets lots of inspiration from the pond, like Monet.  I've added a photo he made of Olga and I last year while we were photographing the frogs.  He did it in a very painterly way and I just love it, he's a painter too.  He took one of us this year on the dock and promised he'd send it to me when he gets it done.