Playing By the Creek as a Child

When I was a little girl, we would often spend weekends up at the ranch in Cordelia, California. My Aunt Mary and her favorite neighbors would usually join us. I was close with Kate, and we would walk to the creek together. We loved wading in the water and catching tadpoles. We would scoop them up into cups, and carefully transfer  them into glass jars. It was fascinating to watch them grow legs. They usually died, unfortunately, which always saddened us. We were hoping to see them transform into  frogs.

We also chased the lizards that ran around the property, and tried to catch them. Usually their tails would fall off, and they would run away from us. I found it incredible that Mother Nature had designed them that way. It really protected them from overly eager children's fingers. By the time we left to go home, it seemed that all of the lizards within a half mile of the ranch no longer had tails. We would spot  them a second time and recognize them by their length, (or lack of it.)

One morning I trapped about ten frogs into a cardboard  box and sneaked them into the car. I went out there early,  before we headed home. When we approached the Bay Bridge, all of the frogs got out of the box and started jumping around in the car. There were six of us riding together in the station wagon. My mother squealed. My dad had to pull over,  carefully catch all of the frogs into his hands, and relocate them into the San Francisco Bay. My dream of having pet frogs was crushed. I never knew if they survived or not.

Country life was very exhilarating and rewarding. We loved spending time in nature and with each other. I really enjoy looking at these old photos and reliving these happy times. Happy New Year!

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