Golden pickerel, Amos

With the heat wave showing absolutely no sign of departing in the foreseeable future—as in, in my darkest moments, ever—we've been spending a lot of time at Amos Lake, and one of our absolute favorite activities, besides, of course, swimming, is hunting frogs. Among the many species we might find, the Pickerel Frogs are probably the most numerous, and, I think, the easiest ones to actually catch. Their gold-tinged skin really stands out in the parched grass and baked dirt, and this month marks the temporary exodus time for the newbies: the graduates of the 2016 reproductive class who are now spending time exploring the land, fattening up, and learning how to negotiate its hazards, among which, of course, are members of our species, especially the froggers. Fortunately for the batrachians, we just want to observe them at close range. After that inspection, the golden amphibians, presumably none the worse for the experience, are free to move on. Invariably, they beat a hasty retreat.