Thank you Fetters. Really good post. Quite timely for us as DH has suggested putting in a garden pond. My first question was, "What about the mosquitoes?" I was intrigued by the mention of Lemon Eucalyptus. E maculata sounded somewhat familiar so I assumed we call it something else down here. I googled it and this is what I found. E maculata is known as Spotted Gum or Honey Gum (good for bees). E citriodora is known as Lemon-Scented Gum. And there is a hybrid E maculata citriodora. Recently these particular gums have been reclassified from Eucalyptus to Corymbia (useful to know in case the nurseries change the labels). I debated whether to mention the next bit. In some areas they are getting a reputation as an invasive weed. It's hard to know when such a reputation is truly warranted. (I have some birch trees, which are most definately not indigenous to my area, and I do get seedlings coming up, but after all these years my birches haven't taken over the nearby bushland. Or is that because they have no chance against the Patterson's Curse, which was once an introduced garden flower.) I suppose all I can say is do some research if you're thinking of planting one. Perhaps conditions in the areas of the US where they are grown are such that they are happy enough to grow okay but not so happy that they get out of control. And the good news is if you change your mind after you've planted one, it apparently makes really good timber. Hello OzOrganic. Sorry to hear about your landlord issue. Don't get me started on that subject. Hope you find a solution soon.

I had the same thing this year. I actually grabbed some long strands and moved them around. Quite slimy. Anyway, my 7 year old and I actually saw the TWO toads atop each other and immediately after found the spawn, so I know that it was about a week till tadpoles (hundreds of them) hatched or whatever the proper word is. We were on spring break when they hatched and were sorry we missed that. They seem quite happy in the ponds, and since only 1 pond even has fish ... I'm going to be having a lot of frogs in the pool this summer I'm thinking. As far as environment, the tadpoles are going to need someplace they can get out of the water when they start developing legs. Mine are at spawn +16 days and no legs yet.

That's awesome! Congrats on a great find. It's always a rush when you find a new den or a really cool spot you didn't know about before. Actually you had the range of experiences when exploring: one spot that turned out to be a jackpot and another that turned out to have less of the desired habitat than expected. When you explore some new places you never know quite what to expect. That's what makes it all the more fun when you discover a hot new spot like the first one.

Amphibians are very cold tolerant. I'm assuming you live in a colder climate. Frogs will be active through November and can still be found in the dead of winter under rocks streamside along with salamanders.