Yesterday I tackled the no-mow section of my lawn. I decided to have a no-mow summer rather than a no-mow May because the grasses looked lovely in the breeze and the butterflies and moths seemed to enjoy it. Unfortunately, the moss, the ants and the slugs like it too, so I decided the time was right to chop, mow and rake it, to prepare it for the autumn and winter months.
I’ve been scattering poppy seeds in the patch for the last two years with no results, so as well as flattening the ant hills, I hope that disturbing the soil might mean we have poppies in the patch next year.
I hadn’t noticed any frogs in the grass but reckoned that there would be a few. So before chopping, raking and mowing, I walked around the patch carefully to see what emerged. Quite a few frogs started hopping about, together with grasshoppers and a few other insects I couldn’t identify before they escaped. I scooped up the frogs and let them loose in safer areas.
The process took about 2 hours in all and I caught and moved at least 25 frogs. It’s a shame I couldn’t leave the patch but there are plenty of good places to be, so I’m confident they were okay. It was lovely to catch and release them. I could barely feel them in my hands as they are still so small. A tiny nudge and they were leaping to safety under the shed or into the undergrowth.
I was so busy I didn’t have time for much photography but here’s a couple of hoppers I spotted once I’d put the mower away.
FROG BLOG 