Life on the lilypad

I got a few new baby goldfish at the pet store today to add to my little pond in the backyard. I had had some deaths among my pond fish last month and I wanted to replace those three plus a few more. I waited until I was sure the pond had stabilized once again and that I wouldn't be condemning any new additions to a certain death. But the fish that survived are doing fine now and the water is clear, the plants thriving, so I decided it was time to take the plunge, so to speak.

I took the fish in their plastic bag and floated them in the pond for about twenty minutes to acclimate, then released them into the water. They immediately swam away and started exploring their surroundings, while the other fish explored them.

A couple of hours later, I went back to check on them and, sure enough, the pond was peaceful and all the fish seemed to be quite happy in their surroundings. As I watched the fish, my gaze wandered over to the lilypads and I did a double take. There was a tiny frog sitting on one of the leaves!

Of course, I ran inside to get my camera to record the visitor.

And here he is. Isn't he cute? I frequently see frogs jumping into the pond when I go out to feed the fish or to net debris out of the water, but I've never found one sitting on a leaf before.

I'm not an expert on frog identification, but I believe this is a Southern Leopard Frog, Rana utricularia. It's a species that is said to be fairly common in the area, and I'm happy to welcome him to my family of backyard critters.