(Not quite so) long live the potato

Did you know that when you google "lifespan of potato" it gives you at least two options?

Raw and mashed.

Mashed they last 3-7 days (depending on the reliability of your fridge and the cast-ironness of your stomach).

Opinions vary on the longevity of your raw potato. According to wiki answers:

"Potatoes can be what we call an easy keeper when they are raw. If kept in a cool dry place they can last up to 2 months. As soon as a potato is dug up it starts to dry up".

Others suggest up to five months.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with your potato.

At about three months they look a bit like this:

(actually, I have no idea how old these babies were as I failed to log their arrival date in my potato storage bin. The Potato Office of Births, Deaths and Mashes is also missing in action).

But 5 months after that the potato starts to look a little the worse for wear.

Not the Royal Wedding

On a day when all the world's eyes

are on London, somewhere, in a quiet

corner of the universe, a sad and lonely

alien ponders what might have been

"Ah well, at least I have a bouquet"

Long live the frog

So just how long does a frog live for?

Apparently it is hard to answer this question as they seem to do a lot of their living out of the public eye. And no one has yet located the Frog Office of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

But the news from frogs (and toads) in captivity suggests that, depending on species, they can live for somewhere between 4 and 15 years.

So there's hope that one day this:

...may become this:

Direction finding frog

Frogs, it seems, can always find the way home.

Or to new ponds.

Who knows, maybe even to the nearest pub?

It is amazing.

How do they do it?

It's like they've got a map in their heads...

Frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails

We all know what little boys are made of.

Frogs. 

Obviously.

 Together with  a snail.

And a puppy dog tail.

But what happens when you combine it all?

Could it look like this?

Frog feet plus frog

First, there were the feet.

Now there's the whole frog.

Anyone out there wants to go nuts with macrame and make one of these, go right ahead and then send me the piccies.

Frog feet (3)

Toad.

Tree frog.

True frog.

Return of the Golden frog

Back to the weirdy beardy and his friend for more Golden Frog fun in the west of England.

Happy easter everyone.

Frog feet (2)

No frogs were harmed in the making of this blog-post.

(Thanks to Chris for use of her excellent feet.)

Doeberl Frog

The Frogprince hoppens to notice that the 2011 Doeberl Cup Chess Competition is in full swing in Canberra. On a whim, he decides to register. But what division would be most appropriate for a frog of his calibre ... ?

... Premier. Of course.

It's been a while ... some quick revision is probably in order.

Mm-hm, yep, got it.


Chess is a battle of wills, you need tenacity and focus and the ability to maintain cool under pressure. The Frogprince faces a fearsome opponent with steely resolve.



Sadly, it quickly becomes clear that none of the players is a match for the Frogprince. They don't train for full contact chess like they used to.

What is the true meaning of Easter?

Nope. 

Not "further to the East".

I'm not going to promise that it has anything to do with frogs either.

But there's no denying they do feature in religion.

Stay tuned for part two.

Frog feet

Macrame frog feet.

Cool.

(I know.  I need to get out more).

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright

The Tiger!

A noble beast.

And a fearsome one. 

When it comes to Tiger Vs Frogs, I bet you think you know how it ends.

Think again.

 1. Stalk

 2. Pounce

3. Devour

Frog power. It's awesome!

(Thanks to the Irvine and McLoughlin families for frogs and tiger. Or should that be ex-tiger?)

The power of Grandpa Frog

Grandpa Frog, it seems, can make frogs appear out of thin air.

They climb walls...

 Make rainbows...

 Play chasings.

 Even Fluffs is not immune to the charm of "a frog of one's own".

Grandpa Frog just smiles...

Grandpa Frog - interior decorator

Grandpa Frog has taken up temporary residence on the ward.

"This is all a bit sterile" he said. "Let there be frogs!"

And there were frogs.

Quite a lot of frogs, actually...

I know what Frogs like

Well, I know what one frog likes.

Grandpa Frog is a bit of a traditionalist.  A weekend just isn't right unless you can sit down with the papers - particularly the weekend magazine.

What we can learn from frogs

To learn about the structure and function of living things, it is essential to explore the anatomy of real organisms up close and personal. While much can be accomplished by studying living things and their life cycles, dissections offer a view of the internal structures and how they contribute to the whole.

Apparently frog anatomy is very similar to human anatomy – and frogs are easier to fit onto a lab bench.

Materials for dissecting a frog

 Frogs (order them from Carolina Biological catalog # 22-7444, 22-7445, 22-7446, 22-7464, 22-7465, 22-7466, between $3.35 - $5.95 depending on the quantity ordered and whether there is any color injection)

 Paper plate or dissection tray

 Scissors

 Scalpel or razor blade

 Forceps

 Optional: dissection probes

 Optional: dissection pins (especially useful if you have dissection trays on which to use them)

Alternatively, you can get yourself a self-dissecting frog like this one:

If only all scientific knowledge was so easy.

Goat and Frog

Far be it from me to advertsie anything to do with Telstra (not much of a fan) but I typed Goat and Frog into google and it gave me this:

What's a girl to do?

Exploding frogs

You thought it was just something that happened in Tibetan folk tales.

But no.

Exploding frogs are apparently an incentive to chew gum.

And for some peope, just straight out entertainment.

I never promised this blog would be politically correct.

World of Frogs - Tibet (or why frogs should not look at cows)

A Tibetan twist to The City Frog and the Country Frog

Once a city frog visited the countryside.

 He was amazed at the many kinds of animals roaming freely (or freely-ish).

 And he was especially impressed with the imposing size of the cow.

When he came across his country cousin who lived inside a deep, dark well, he said, "You cannot imagine the size of the animal I saw today. "

His cousin smiled and asked, "How big an animal was it?"

The city frog puffed out his chest saying, "It was thi-i-i-i-is big!"

"How big? asked the country frog .

"This big, said the other as he puffed himself up even more.

"No-o-oh ! exclaimed the country frog. "Are you sure?"

And the city frog, trying to impress his country cousin even in his own familiar territory, puffed himself up more and more until he finally exploded !