Night Peeper, home

This has been a rough week, walking wise, and my fond hope that I would start every morning with a trek has, because of work demands... as in, paying work... gone pretty much by the boards. In fact, for all too much of today, virtue, economic necessity, and a barrage of no-longer-flexible deadlines kept me confined to quarters for just about the entire photoperiod. So it goes. But I did get outside for a little night walk, and as I was scanning the goldenrods for what I hoped would be colorful caterpillars or intriguing insects, I discovered, on a Hydrangea stem, this charmer: a tree frog known as the Spring Peeper. These amphibians are tiny—this one is barely the size of my thumb, from its tip to the first joint—and at this time of year, they lack the bell-like voice that is a signature sign of spring in the wetlands. They're definitely on the move, however, and this non-peeping Peeper even waited patiently for me to get the camera light correct for its photo op. That done, it rocketed off the branch into the shadows where it continued its search for food and suitable winter refuge.