Praying for Frogs

I am regaining my love for gardening these days.

As we resign ourselves once again to staying in our little home, we are making plans to improve our small plot. Some of these improvements include terracing the slope, adding more fruit trees, continuing to maintain and add to our gardens, and adding a second chicken coop for our quickly maturing new flock of chickens.

What does this have to do with frogs you may ask (referring to the title of this blog post)?

Well, part of our desire to raise natural produce has been to keep our little plot chemical free. We have had a "bug man" in the past, but since reading that the best way to control pests is by fostering a naturally beneficial environment for the good pests, we have tried to avoid chemical warfare. Nature has a way of balancing itself and will control pests in a more effective way if we humans will just let it be.

HOWEVER...

The earwigs have returned this Spring with a vengeance. First, it was one here and there. Now, the backyard is literally dripping with them. We moved one of our push toys today to sweep and at least 50 of them came crawling out from underneath. Same with the sit 'n spin we keep on the back porch...and the rocking horse...

As I added to the strawberry patch in the front yard today, I only found a few of the little creatures, but I know it is only a matter of time before they overrun the front too.

As I walked through the house last night, answering one of our children's cries, I caught two crawling up the walls of the living room. I found one under my razor in the shower. I saw one scuttle out from one of the couch cushions this morning. I saw one scurry out from under my pen when I went to do my Bible study.

They have eaten about half of our carefully grown seedlings, though they seem to avoid the tomatoes and sunflower seedlings. It could be a very tomato heavy harvest this summer.

So, you may be wondering what the natural predator of these beasties is? Well, pretty much only frogs...and chickens...though our girls are so well fed with table scraps and their regular feed, they sometimes forego the scrumptious earwig feast laid out before them.

Last year, I reached my tolerance level before the frogs came and we had Cesar (the "bug man") come spray. When the frogs came a few weeks later, they had little to eat, and what they could eat was poisoned. And I worried and fretted about the chemical damage to the soil.

So, I vowed this year would be different. We would wait patiently for the frogs.

BUT...

If I find one in the bassinet, I will scream, and the bug man will be called...

If I find one anywhere near my bed or pillow, same goes...

I am praying for frogs.