I recently took this picture of a bunch of tadpoles that had come to life on a pool cover. It wasn’t a planned event. It wasn’t a desired event. It wasn’t a “wonder if I let this frog in my pool…” event. It was just a part of life. (BTW - this post is part of my animal theme (in this case, amphibian) posts...you can look at the others here, if you like - you will see links to several post there).
My thoughts went like this…
How many tadpoles are in this pool cover? It was an average sized pool, but I would say there are thousands of tadpoles swimming around.
How may frogs laid their eggs? Did one frog cause all of this?
What should be done now? Do they need to be killed? Seems sad to do so - did I just get all emotional about frogs? Is there a frog-lawyer that will sue us or jail us for the extermination?
Would PETA be upset at us? (Side thoughts - do PETA members kill mosquitoes or let them bite? Do they stop and mourn every time they hit a bug with their car? If a swarm of bees comes after them, do they stand there and smile at each bite? Do they ever call Terminix for their termite problems, or do they buy wood for them to eat?)
Should they be collected and put in a pond somewhere? Who’s pond, and will they be mad at us?
Do the frogs mourn for each little “Pole” that dies?
Do they name each of their offspring? Pole one, pole two, pole three...or, Tad-Jimmy, Tad-Nicole, Tad-Fred, Tad-Tammy (that one had a nice ring to it)...
What is going to happen when these tadpoles turn into frogs and come out of the pool? Is it going to be like the biblical plague? Will they wonder off, or do frogs stay close to home?
Should I collect some for a science class, so they can watch them develop? Is that humane? Why do I need to be humane to a frog? Wouldn't that be frog-mane?
Do they know their in a pool cover and not a pond? Do they care?
When the first frog comes out, of the pool, does he look back and mock all the other’s that are still in it? A little frog-pride?
Will all of these frogs draw snakes to the area? I don’t like snakes.
So, is there a point to this post?
Here it is…
Like yesterday’s post, I think I missed the obvious when I first listed all my questions.
God has a plan for everything, even thousands of tadpoles. They eat all the bugs that drive you and I crazy, and this year, in particular, is a bad bug year. Though it looks like a nuisance, those tadpoles will be mighty helpful down the road.
Take this and look at your life. You likely have a nuisance issue in your life that you are struggling with. It may just be a small thing, but it’s bugging you and you want to get ride of it, even though it won’t go away quickly or by itself. Be careful to understand that the nuisance that is picking at you everyday, may have a longer term benefit that you need down the road. You may not be able to put the links together right now, but you will likely look back and see that the nuisance today, helped you through a “buggy” spot in life later on.
Lessons Learned: Tadpoles are cool to watch. I love questions.
Thoughts: What tadpoles do you have in your life right now?
My tadpole is my upcoming wedding that my fiance and I are planning for November 1st. But ironically enough I found this webpage by searching for "tadpoles on pool cover". So I'm curious, what did you end up doing with your actual tadpole situation?? I have the same problem right now and many of your questions have already ran through my head and many of your questions now have me more worried than I was prior. haha! Anyway, we didn't know the tadpoles were there (Should have, since we hear frogs out there every night once its dark).... anyway again, we are opening the pool this weekend so we pumped almost all of the water off of the cover not knowing they were there and now they have a tiny bit of water to try to survive in and it looks just awful!! My fiance was going to scoop them off and throw them in the yard :-( so I halted that and here I am desperate for help.
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