Welcome to the Pond

Before we hop into the regular weekly posts, I wanted to give a little introduction and answer one of the most common questions I get:

What’s the deal with the frog thing?

Growing up in Florida, I was always surrounded by so much wildlife. Being able to walk around my yard and find all sorts of critters was fundamental to the way my curiosity for the world around me developed. From the time I was born, the soundtracks for my summers were written by frog calls and curated by crickets; I was destined to fall in love.

As I got older, my fascination for frogs and toads only grew. I was known to catch a stray frog regardless of whatever situation I found myself in, whether that be in the outfield during one of my baseball games (while the game was actively going on) or during a fire drill at school. Somehow, it seemed like I always found the frogs. Or maybe, somehow, they always found me.

me smiling after catching a frog in the outfield probably

At some point, infamously, I asked my mom if I could change my name to “Frog.” Clearly she said no (thanks for being a buzzkill, Shari) but that didn’t diminish their impact on my identity. I’m not sure what exactly resonated so much. Maybe it was the fact that they were experts at morphing to fit their environment. Maybe it was because, for seemingly inexplicable reasons, so many people thought they were weird or gross. Or maybe, probably, it was just because I was 5 and I really liked them.

Regardless, my hope here is to take us back to my childhood yard. To look at the world with a sense of wonder that we might lose in the day-to-day monotony. To learn both about and from our little amphibian friends. And, maybe most importantly, to treat ourselves with the kindness that we knew as kids.

As we go on this journey together, I want to encourage you all to chime in as much as you want. Chat in the comments if you’re feeling inspired, share with anyone else you think would enjoy it. And don’t worry, the regular posts will be much less about me and much more about the frogs.

Stay froggy <3