Nightlife in Waxahachie

A few nights ago, when it was time to turn in and I was preparing for bed with NPR chatting away on the radio, I thought I heard the telephone ring. Couldn’t be sure, so I stopped and listened carefully.

Burrrrrrrrrrrr! Burrrrrrrrrrrr! Not exactly a ring-a-ding type of ring, but that kind of soft burring sound you mostly hear in offices. Burrrrrrrrrrrr! Burrrrrrrrrrrr! Maybe my phone ringer was having a problem.

I heard it again, and then again. I turned the radio down to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, and then could hear it clearly. I tried to figure out where it was coming from. From outside, through the open window? Didn’t make sense.

I walked around to see if it was really coming from somewhere in the house. Nope. Could be from my neighbor’s house, if they had a very loud phone, I guess.

It was puzzling, and kind of amusing, but it was time to sleep, so I shut the window, the sound went away, and I slept.

Most of us have a hard time ignoring a mystery, of course, so the matter was still on my mind at daybreak.

After awhile I called a Texas-born friend, who suggested that it was most likely an early cicada, explaining there’s always a loner or two who turn up first; it made sense and I was satisfied.

Until that night, when I heard my mystery phone again. This time I was downstairs and could tell that the sound was definitely coming from outside the house.

I had the back door open, and this was definitely down low; sounded like it was coming from the pool, in fact. But isn’t a cicada supposed to be up in a tree?

So it must be a frog of some kind. Since I’d never seen a singing frog up close, I wanted to get a look at him. Got the flashlight and embarked.

The pool is like a pond, surrounded by grasses, plants and underbrush, perfect for a froggy type to hide in, but I was determined to see him. He kept singing and I kept closing in on the sound.

Now, a person of a certain age does not typically have the balance of a tightrope walker, you know, so it was a little bit of an adventure sneaking along the dark border of the pool without falling in – but finally I found him. Singing his little heart out.

When these guys sing, their throats puff out like a little golf ball. This is serious stuff. He sang, someone across the pool answered, he sang again. And so on for as long as I stood there.

Back at my computer, thanks to trusty Google, I learned he is an American Toad (who knew toads could sing?). I found a photo that looks just like him. If you want to hear him for yourself, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIhx5pIcK0A.

Sometimes the most exhilarating nightlife is right in your own backyard!