Frog

Regarding Timothy B. Wheeler's recent article on declining amphibian populations, the mysterious disappearance of many frogs may be due to an invasive plant species known as buckthorn ("Alarming U.S. decline seen in environment's sentinels," May 23). Buckthorn was imported from Europe in the 19th century and was initially employed for garden hedges. But since then it has spread throughout the woodlands of America. Buckthorn is notorious for shading other native plants, inhibiting their growth and allowing increased visibility for amphibian predators.

Regarding Timothy B. Wheeler's recent article on declining amphibian populations, the mysterious disappearance of many frogs may be due to an invasive plant species known as buckthorn ("Alarming U.S. decline seen in environment's sentinels," May 23). Buckthorn was imported from Europe in the 19th century and was initially employed for garden hedges. But since then it has spread throughout the woodlands of America. Buckthorn is notorious for shading other native plants, inhibiting their growth and allowing increased visibility for amphibian predators.

It's hard to miss the whimsical statue — an adult frog reading to a baby frog — that greets visitors outside the front entrance of the Miller Branch Library. Another frog statue, equally as clever, sits in the library's Enchanted Garden. When the library held a contest to name the toads they received approximately 4,000 entries. One of those entries was from Ellicott City resident Nathan Stitely who is a frequent visitor to the Miller Branch library. According to his mom, while visiting the new branch, he saw the contest information and thought it would be fun to give it a try. He hopes to be a famous cartoonist some day and thought this might be a great way to get his start, by naming the toad.

Some of springtime's more notable heralds appear to be fading away, as a new study finds frogs, toads and salamanders disappearing at an alarming rate across the United States. In what they say is the first analysis of its kind, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and a couple of universities report that declines in environmentally sensitive amphibians are more widespread and more severe than previously thought. Even the most common critters, such as the spring peepers that make Maryland marshes ring with their mating cries, appear to be losing ground.

A gator blows a jazz horn just like Satchmo. The evening star besots a firefly. The dark corners of 1920s New Orleans overflow with evil voodoo while, deep in the bayou, a blind priestess, Mama Odie, practices some positive swamp sorcery. With ingredients like that, Dee-Dee Jackson, the Atlanta-based national president of the activity and support group Mocha Moms, says that "The Princess and the Frog" delivers the "Disney pixie dust" that her friends came to expect when fairy-tale heroines kicked off the Disney-animation renaissance with "The Little Mermaid" (1989)

"The Frog" by John Hawkes. Viking. 189 pages $21.95.When John Hawkes was producing such novels as "Second Skin" and "Blood Oranges" in the late Sixties and early Seventies it was fashionable to refer to him as a foremost exponent of The New Novel or of - horrible word - "metafiction." Well, the New Novel has been around so long it's now starting to seem older than the Old Novel. Hawkes' newest New Novel, "The Frog," about a turn-of-the-century Frenchman who goes through life with a frog in his stomach, has all the familiar traits of a Hawkesian-New Novel: a fantastic (and phantastic)

As part of our continuing effort to keep you, the voting public, alarmed, today we present a Special Report entitled: Frogs Making News.Our lead frog hails from West Virginia, where it was the subject of a news story in the Charleston Daily Mail, written by Evadna Bartlett and sent in by alert reader Jeremy Scott. The headline states:Putnam Woman Finds Frog Inside Her Frozen DinnerThe story -- which is one of the most thorough frog-related stories we have seen in 24 years of journalism -- quotes the woman, Emily Stover, as stating that she had eaten about three-quarters of a Healthy Choice brand Chicken Cantonese frozen dinner, and was about to eat the broccoli ("her favorite vegetable," the story states)

HOLLYWOOD - The frog is dead - killed by the bosses at the WB Network. Michigan J. Frog, the dancing, singing cartoon amphibian brought to life half a century ago by legendary animator Chuck Jones, has been booted as the corporate mascot at WB, which is struggling to shed its teeny-bopper image. "The frog is dead and buried," WB Chairman Garth Ancier told reporters yesterday morning at the semiannual Television Critics Association media tour in Beverly Hills. Ancier broke the news of the frog's demise incidentally, in response to a question about a new network logo featuring a green-and-blue splash-paint design.

THE trouble with a cold winter is that you don't know who to blame for it. Scientists say that it is the fault of the jet stream, which is coming in from Alaska instead of Hawaii. Bob Dole claims that the blame lies with Clinton's health plan.Then the question arises, why didn't Willard Scott tell us what to expect? He kept accepting apple pies from grandmothers in Dubuque, but he didn't warn us about the blizzards until it was too late. Then we had to close down practically every school in the country.

I HAVE RECEIVED some important information via a letter from Claire Nordstrum, 13, a student in Wisconsin (state motto: "Moo").Claire states that her science teacher told the class that "it's a proven fact that on average a person eats six spiders in a year." Another scientific fact this teacher revealed, according to Claire, is that "wood ticks breathe through their butts."This sounds logical to me, since if a wood tick had its whole head burrowed into your body, it wouldn't be able to breathe through its face (assuming ticks have faces)

An article in the April 4, 1963, edition of the Herald Argus and Baltimore Countian reported on actions by area firefighters in rescuing three boys from a sticky situation. While hunting for frogs along the clay banks in a swampy area in the 1600 block Sulphur Spring road, Lansdowne, last Saturday morning, three boys became trapped waist deep in soft mud and clay. The victims, Ronald M. Trescott , 13, of Summit avenue, Glenn Piekaski , 12, and his brother, Carey A. Piekaski , 14, of Rehbaum avenue were rescued unharmed by 16 members of the Halethorpe Fire Department and Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department.

- The volunteers of the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas project leave no log unrolled, no stone unturned in their quest to document the state's dirt dwellers. When the earth is moist after a soaking rain and the temperatures whisper spring, the herp patrol - short for herpetology - spreads out in search of slithering, hopping, plodding critters along the fringes of farm fields, sunning themselves on pond rocks and making new burrows at the edges of vernal pools. These amateur census takers aren't picky.

It's hard to miss the whimsical statue — an adult frog reading to a baby frog — that greets visitors outside the front entrance of the Miller Branch Library. Another frog statue, equally as clever, sits in the library's Enchanted Garden. When the library held a contest to name the toads they received approximately 4,000 entries. One of those entries was from Ellicott City resident Nathan Stitely who is a frequent visitor to the Miller Branch library. According to his mom, while visiting the new branch, he saw the contest information and thought it would be fun to give it a try. He hopes to be a famous cartoonist some day and thought this might be a great way to get his start, by naming the toad.

As the Summer Olympics commence, Tom Carson and I raise a glass at the Swallow at The Hollow in Baltimore to Ray Ewry (pronounced Yew-ree), because attention must be paid: Tom's grandfather set a record in London in 1908 that the great Michael Phelps could reach in London in 2012, and such things have meaning across the ages. But before we go on, a clarification: Depending on how you count them, Ray Ewry won either eight or 10 individual gold medals as an amazing Olympic jumper — the Human Frog, they called him — early in the 20th century.

Harry Craig "Frog" Snyder, a retired Baltimore County firefighter who was also a model railroad buff, died Feb. 8 at his Upperco home. He was 59. "We are waiting for the results of an autopsy for the cause of death," said his wife of 32 years, the former Frances E. Bandel. The son of a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad chief mechanic and an educator, Mr. Snyder was born in Baltimore and raised in Pikesville. After graduating from Milford Mill High School in 1970, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1974 from the University of Baltimore.

TCU is leaving the Mountain West Conference to join the Big East, effective July 1, 2012. "This decision is great for TCU," athletic director Chris Del Conte said Monday. "This is a great time to be a Frog. Today, we're going to the Big East. " While TCU will become a Big East member in all sports, the move will be extremely beneficial to both the school and conference in football. •Alabama has fired an employee who played songs aimed at Auburn quarterback Cam Newton before the Iron Bowl, including "Take the Money and Run" and "Son of a Preacher Man. " •Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said he refuses to let speculation about Rich Rodriguez's future change his timetable to evaluate him. Rodriguez helped the Wolverines qualify for a bowl for the first time in his three seasons.

Get ready to dance naked in the streets, because scientists have finally done something that humanity has long dreamed about, but most of us thought would never happen within our lifetimes.That's right: They have levitated a frog.I swear I am not making this up. According to an Associated Press article sent in by a number of alert readers, British and Dutch scientists "have succeeded in floating a frog in air." They did this by using magnetism, which, as you recall from physics class, is a powerful force that causes certain items to be attracted to refrigerators.

The only thing wrong with the British animated feature "Freddie as F.R.O. 7" is that it's overlong, overstupid and over here.A completely fruitless attempt to go mano a mano with the stately and vivid Disney animated tradition, the piece surely proves the relativity of time: At an hour and a half, it feels long enough for you to procreate, raise and send off to college a few new relatives!The story attempts to meld two separate traditions, the painterly, "classic" medieval vein that Disney mined so well with "Beauty and the Beast," and the high-tech showboaty pleasures of the James Bond oeuvre.

The top four teams in Sunday's release of the Bowl Championship Series standings did not change, but that didn't mean things stayed the same. Oregon is No. 1 for a second straight week with an average of .9638, followed by Auburn at .9611, Texas Christian at .9259 and Boise State at .8662. These are the last four unbeaten teams in major college football. If Oregon and Auburn win out, they will play Jan. 10 for the BCS title in Glendale, Ariz. What changed was TCU expanding its points lead over Boise State for third place, which is important in the national title race if Oregon or Auburn loses a game.

Oregon passed Auburn in Sunday's Bowl Championship Series standings, but that wasn't big news considering first and second are of equal value in terms of getting to the title game. The news was Texas Christian jumping ahead of Boise State into third position, and Utah moving up three positions from last week into the fifth spot. Oregon, a 53-32 winner over USC on Saturday, is first in the BCS with an average of .9777, followed by Auburn at .9599. TCU is third with an average of .8911, followed by Boise State at .8824 and Utah at .7318.