NYC Frog Project On the Road

Glenwood Gardens
Cincinnati, Ohio

A few years ago, I posted pictures of some of the frogs we found at Glenwood Gardens, one of the parks in Hamilton County.   This time, we found some real frogs.   The twelve-year-old boy who helped us find them could tell us what they were.  I don't remember now.

Playground Frogs

De Hostos Playground
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

We hit the jackpot!

Located on the edge of Williamsburg, as it turns into Bushwick, this playground was named for Eugenio Maria de Hostos (1839-1903), a Puerto Rican Reformer and Educator.  I'm not sure how the frogs connect, but there sure are a lot of them.

They leap across the fence:

There are spray showers (see my Tumblr blog for a series of these): 

Their lifecycle is embedded in the concrete:

And three of these little guys surround the flagpole:

NYC Frog Project On The Road

Frog Bridge
Willimantic, CT (Windham, CT)

This.  Is.  Awesome.

The bridge is also called the Thread City Crossing, an apt name considering Willimantic's historical ties to the mill industry.  But the frogs?  Ok, here's the story . . .

It was the beginning of the French and Indian War, and the townsfolk of Windham, Connecticut, were all nervous about being murdered in their beds.  So when an ungodly racket broke out one summer night, they panicked.  Was it Indians?  The end of the world?  Much running about with muskets and praying and wailing ensued.  And then . . . nothing.  It wasn't until the next morning that they discovered the carnage:  dozens of dead frogs around a pond that was drying up in the midsummer heat.  It seems that the frogs had engaged in a little battle of their own, and, much to the dismay of the Windhamites--and the amusement of their neighbors--the legend was born.

Apparently, there is an opera.

The bridge was completed in 2001.  Each of the four frogs has a name, but I'm not sure who is who.

At some point, the town embraced the story.  The town seal is a frog.  And there are early banknotes that show a frog standing over the corpse of its defeated enemy.  

NYC Frog Project On the Road

Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden
Springfield, MA

On our way back from a weekend in Vermont, we stopped in Springfield to see the Dr. Seuss Memorial Garden, which is is a courtyard between the library, the art museums, and the Springfield Science Museum.  Adorning the walls of the Science Museum were these frogs:

The Dr. Seuss National Sculpture Memorial Garden is worth a stop if you're ever in Springfield.  Theodore Giesel was born in Springfield, and his first children's book, To Think that I Saw it On Mulberry Street, was supposedly inspired by a street of that name in Springfield.  As this New York Times article concludes:

"As for Mulberry Street?  A shabby place with boarded-up houses, an addiction treatment center and drug dealers.  Young Marco in his necktie and dress Bermudas would be eaten alive on Mulberry Street.  Of course, that's the magic of Dr. Seuss' books, or any good fiction.  The real Mulberry Street isn't the real Mulberry Street and may never have been the real Mulberry Street.  The real Mulberry Street is the Mulberry Street drawn by Dr. Seuss in 1937 and forever frozen in time." 

The park features favorite characters--Horton, The Grinch and Max, the Lorax--and a statue of Giesel himself, at work in his studio.

Frogs of the TImes

A Frog of Special Skill

The article tells us that:  :Though they are widespread in New York City's five boroughs, gray tree frogs are rarely noticed by park visitors or wetland hikers." Its trick to surviving a New York City winter?  The frog is able to shut down its body so that its "heart stops beating completely, its lungs stop working, and its brain activity is almost unmeasurable."   I kind of wish I could do that in the summer, when it's 95 degrees and the whole city smells vaguely of rotting garbage.

Photo from the New York Times

NYC Frog Project on the Road

Turtleback Zoo
West Orange, NY

Playground Frogs

Thomas J. Cuite Park
Windsor Terrace Brooklyn

Two years ago, I posted pictures of these frogs, which had become fairly derelict.  This year, someone has given them polka dots.

Frogs of the Times

New Frog Species Discovered on Staten Island

I've decided to add a new feature to the blog called "Frogs of the Times"--the New York Times, that is.  From time to time the paper of record decides to report on things herpetological.

This article was published almost exactly a year ago and recounts the discovery of a new species of frog on Staten Island.  Yes, Staten Island.  As the reporter explains, most species are discovered in remote and unpopulated areas, but not this time.  The new frog had probably been seen and heard by thousands of people who didn't realize what they were looking at.  The croak, as the article explains, gave it away.

Picture from the New York Times

Playground Frogs

Heritage Row Playground (Pulaski Playground)
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Named for Heritage Row Houses across the street, a Habitat for Humanity project, Heritage Row Playground is part of the larger Pulaski Playground.

Playground Frogs

Marcy Playground
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

Marcy Playground was named for William Learned Marcy (1786-1857), a governor of New York, Secretary of War under President James K. Polk and Secretary of State under President Franklin Pierce.  The original playground was located about a block away and was dedicated to Samuel Crews, a WWI veteran; the original flagpole was moved with the park.  Today, it's part of the Marcy Houses development.

                           

Playground Frogs

McCarren Park
Williamsburg, Brooklyn


Named after Patrick Henry McCarren (1847-1909), a State Assemblyman and gambler, McCarren Park (formerly Greenpoint park) was a "community showpiece" in the early 20th century with a 1/4-mile track, a field that could be converted to an ice rink, playgrounds, sports fields, and a farm garden for children.  During the Great Depression, the WPA built McCarren Park Pool (one of eleven in the city); it can hold up to 6800 people.  The pool closed in 1984 and reopened in 2012.  These frogs are in the playground adjacent to the pool.  They've seen better days . . .

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I looked around on Flickr and found a couple of pictures of these frogs from 2009, when they were freshly painted.  

Playground Frogs

Lincoln Road Playground
Prospect Park, Brooklyn

NYC Frog Project on the Road

Frog Pond, Boston Common
Boston, MA

In the winter, the Frog Pond is a skating rink; in the summer it seems to be a wading pool.

This vintage postcard shows what it looked like in the early 20th century.










Today, these two frogs keep watch on the goings-on.  Created by David Phillips (2002) and called "Frogs in Common," they are part of a series that extends to the nearby Tadpole Playground.

 

Just inside the Tadpole Playground is this mosaic, dedicated to David J. McGrath by his daughter.

And the gates to the playground have these smaller mosaics built into them.