Quick stories – Rare Frog, Heated Toilet, Happy Snake #AtoZChallenge
― Mark Twain
Rare Frog
We saw a cool frog in Puerto Lopez. Took some photos. Figured we’d see more like him over time. Did some research. It is a rare Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Pacific horned frog) found only in Ecuador and Peru. Haven’t seen one since.
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| Ceratophrys stolzmanni (Pacific horned frog) |
Heated Toilet
Our friends rented an apartment. The owner assured them that there was hot water (many homes in Ecuador have only cold water). Turns out he had installed a hot water heater for the building’s only incoming water pipe. There was no cold water.
Happy Snake
Some friends were mountain biking in Machalilla National Park and came upon a snake. They stopped and took cell phone pictures, getting close for better shots. When they shared their photos, they learned they were lucky the venomous snake was not in an irritable mood.
If you are visiting from the #AtoZChallenge please include your blog link in a comment so I can check it out.
Emily Bloomquist
I am a US Expat in Ecuador. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, worked in IT in California's Silicon Valley, then moved to a coastal Ecuador fishing village. My goal is to share Ecuador with you, one snippet at a time. Topics include attractions, compassion, ecotourism, Ecuador products, everyday Ecuador, and flora and fauna. Please let me know what you would like to read more about!
28 Comments
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hi Emily – these are wonderful/glad the snake was not irritable stories … well done on capturing the frog – he does look pretty ominous …
Well that's an interesting take on a toilet! Crazy … and great fun to read … cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/q-is-for-quirky-quizzy-facts-and-quaggas.html
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Hilary. I was so glad I took photos of the frog when we saw it.
Blikachuka
haha, I like the heated toilet idea- why not!
Quiet
Emily Bloomquist
Yeah, no more cold seats 🙂
Molly of Molly's Canopy
Nice you got that frog photo and that your friends survived the snake!
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Molly, me too!
sage
All interesting stories… I remember describing a snake that I saw in SE Asia and learning it was a Cobra.
http://sagecoveredhills.blogspot.com/2017/04/q-is-for-queen-cassiopeia.html
Emily Bloomquist
Good thing you lived to tell the story!
Jean Davis
That frog appears to have a large head! Neat looking creature though.
All happy snakes should be left alone and viewed from a safe distance. Makes me cringe just to think of it. Ack!
Hot water is great…but all and only hot water? And in the toilet? I can just imagine how often that needed to be cleaned with the warm water breeding everything in there.
Discarded Darlings – Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction
Emily Bloomquist
Yes, large headed frog!
I run away from snakes. In fact, I almost ran one over a couple of days ago. I stopped when I saw it and backed up so I could give it a wide berth!
Chicky Kadambari
:O :O :O
Only hot water! Haah! Now that's a situation I've never heard of before1 😀
By the way, that frog looks more like a colored pebble.
Happy AtoZing, Emily!
Chicky @ http://www.mysteriouskaddu.com
Emily Bloomquist
Ha – yes, the frog does look a bit like a colored pebble.
Donna B. McNicol
LOVE the frog! But ONLY hot water? Eeek!
DB McNicol | Oh, the places we will go! | Quartzsite & ???
Emily Bloomquist
I hope to see a frog like it again. And take a lot more photos.
Arti Jain
What a cute frog and well camouflaged too.
When the summer temps soar in the Gulf, we have to store water in buckets etc, or one gets scalding water from the cold tap!The hot water story resonates with me:)
Q is for questions to a Blogger
Emily Bloomquist
The frog does blend in well. Glad he happened to be out of the forest so we noticed him.
I will have to tell my friends about your hot water in your cold tap. They will like knowing they have company!
Gail Park
We were excited when we moved into our new home that it had a spigot for boiling water at the kitchen sink. I can't imagine if that was the ONLY water we had though….yikes!
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Gail Park
Making Life an Art
Emily Bloomquist
Ooh a spigot for boiling water would be wonderful! But not if it was the only option. At least the water in the apartment wasn't boiling hot.
Jz
I once worked in a place where they'd reversed the hot and cold water lines and yes, one's butt got a sauna every time.
Wasn't too bad when you'd just gotten to work on a cold winter morning but other than that, it's not really the relaxing experience you might imagine…
Emily Bloomquist
I need to tell my friends to read your comment so they will know they weren't alone in that interesting situation.
Deborah Weber
What wonderful quick stories. While the hot water story made me laugh, I can imagine it wasn't that fabulous to have to deal with on a daily basis. Gorgeous frog – and how fun you got to see such a site-specific creature and share a photo for all of us. Personally I'm all for viewing snakes with long-distance lenses. 🙂
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Deborah. I prefer my snake viewing from a distance, too!
Courtney Turner
Excellent letter Q. I love the story of the heated water toilet. And you're lucky the rare frog posed long enough for you to take his pic. Maui Jungalow
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Courtney. I was lucky the frog sat still!
A Tarkabarka Hölgy
That is one funny looking frog…
Also, no cold water? I love a hot shower as much as the next gal, but that might be a little overkill…
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
Emily Bloomquist
Cool showers on hot days are wonderful. I am glad I have both cold and hot!
Nilanjana Bose
I have got too close to snakes for comfort on several occasions…would never think of taking snaps, keep my distance and sacrifice the photo op would be the general policy…the frog is exceedingly neat!
Emily Bloomquist
Yeah, Nilanjana, I run the other direction from snakes! I'm so glad I got pictures of the frog 🙂