This year the frogs have been busy, as usual, doing what comes naturally which has meant that the pond has its ration of froglets which have now abandoned, or eaten, their (non-Covid) bubbles.

Now the newts get to work, if there are any left once the herons have had their fill. Food chain, hey? This year at least, the frost has held off which hasn’t killed them off.

Frogs and toads on the river, however are a different story. This winter, the flood surges have brought thousands of tons of pebbles and shingle down stream and filled up the rock pools they have bred in. Only one pool has been converted into a maternity unit.

But… the absence of frogs and toads has meant less food for the otters, who unzip them and take out their vital organs, leaving the rest of the body to lie like an abandoned Mr Toad fat suit in a film version of “Wind…”

But… this pool which has been colonised, is in danger of being cut-off from the river, which means no fresh water, then what is there will evaporate or turn stagnant.