Frog couple

One of my early-evening tasks is to walk down the long driveway to my neighbor's house, and, in her absence, feed her Manx cat, Rocky. While I'm there, I also check on the water needs of the garden plants, and that Good Samaritan job was why I discovered this delightful pair of Pickerel Frogs tonight. The two amphibians, mother and child in my romantic interpretation, were close together in a flower pot, but, when I first spotted them, I didn't have a camera. I raced back home and returned, hoping against hope that they'd still be there. Luck was on my side and they stuck around long enough for a series of portraits. You can tell they're members of the species Lithobates palustris by the regular rows of fairly rectangular spots between the back ridges, as well as by the yellow wash on the belly and inner legs of the large one, probably a female; the only species you could confuse this with is the Leopard Frog, which is exceedingly uncommon in our area, lacks the regular spot patterning, and has a white belly and legs. As to the notion that they're Madonna and Child, well, not likely. They're just fellow travelers enjoying the relative safety of a flower pot.