DOWN-HOME

When I was working my first real job in the late 1960's, I had a co-worker named Leonard Lee.  He was a great guy and, to say the least, very down-home.  He was our construction foreman.  He introduced me to a number of Appalachian colloquialisms.  One of his favorites, was to call a heavy rain storm a 'frog strangler.'   "Did it rain hard, Leonard?"  "It came a frog strangler, Pat."

 

Friday night we had a heavy rain - one of those "cats and dogs" kind of storms.  It let up pretty late and I went outside to see how it had affected the temperature and humidity.  I took these two pictures just after midnight, Saturday morning.  You can see why it reminded me of Leonard.

 

That ledge the frog is sitting on is only three inches wide and it sits about five foot above the ground.  At first I wondered how this little fellow got to his safe spot under our eaves.  Then, I saw his feet.  It is some type of tree frog with suction cup toes.  I didn't know he lived in our garden.

 

Now I know where the saying comes from.  If it rains enough to chase a frog out of it's home, it must have rained very hard.