Leap, Frog!

In the time I've lived in my town, I've gone from complaining about no cell-phone coverage and no municipal water and sewage to mostly embracing the charm of small-town life (I admit I still complain about no garbage pick-up, however). Today was Old Home Day -- and our "small-town-ness" is never so apparent, or charming, as it is on this day. (Brief description in yesterday's blip.)

One of the day's many highlights is the frog jumping contest. The idea is that kids go out and find the best frog to enter in the contest. The reality is that the parents don their galoshes and head to the nearest pond with a plastic bucket and a frog net, as did my friend who came by our pond (which has produced champions in the past) at 8:00 this morning, sans children, to collect a contestant and a back-up for her son.

I wasn't able to capture a frog in mid-air, but there was something so Rockwellian about this -- the smiles on the faces of the little boy and his mother and the range of expressions on the faces in the crowd. The guy in the middle with the wild getup is the frog jumping judge (same guy every year), and the woman in the bright green is brandishing a tape measure, ready to record the longest leap.

Oh, and bookmark this in case you ever find yourself in urgent need of a bullfrog at 8:00 on a Saturday morning.