Life can be hard if you’re a very tiny frog. I found this diminutive one near a puddle on the edge of the driveway. It jumped away from me as I walked near it, through a grassy area turned into marsh by recent rainfall. I think I may have seen it the other day – something leapt in the grass in the same area – but concluded that it was probably a large grasshopper. I wasn’t convinced, though.

This tiny frog could jump astonishingly high, flinging itself away so violently in its efforts to escape that it flipped itself over more than once. Fortunately, it landed in thick, wet, grass and I was able to very gently capture it for a very quick photo (I am an experienced frog catcher, having spent a good portion of my youth practicing the skill – lol!).

Interestingly, this frog seems to have a cleft in its upper “lip” area that looks (at least externally) similar to a human cleft palate. Whether the deformity was congenital or due to injury, the little creature seemed otherwise healthy. I returned it to the grassy edge and wished it luck…because with all of the obstacles to living its life – even in the country – it needs it.

Did you figure out the “two lives” reference in the title? From Vocabulary.com: “the word amphibian comes from the Greek word amphibios, which means ‘to live a double life'”, referring to the fact that amphibians live their early lives in water, then, later, on land.

Read more about why frogs are important: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-frogs.html