Photo by George Seiffert

Gray Treefrog

Gray treefrogs are often a combination of gray, brown, and green, which helps them blend in where they live in trees, shrubs, or fallen logs near water. There are two species of gray treefrogs, the eastern gray treefrog, which is more common in New England, and the Cope's gray treefrog. They are found all over our ecoregion. Gray treefrogs eat insects, spiders, and mites.

According to Mass Audubon, “They spend the winter hibernating under leaf litter, rocks, and rotting logs. There, they survive the bitter cold (as low as –20 degrees F) and can freeze up to 40 percent of their bodies, thaw, and refreeze, repeating the cycle a handful of times.”

Resources: Squam Lakes Natural Science Center and Mass Audubon

What do you love about this particular creature?
What do they reveal to you about God and our faith?

I’ve never seen a gray tree frog, but when I notice and listen to their distinctive call, I know they are present. I also listen, on my own and with others, for God, and through this holy listening and noticing I know God’s presence. For me, this happens through prayer, worship, spending time with communities of practice like bible study and contemplative prayer groups, and in the ministry of spiritual direction, but it also sometimes catches me by surprise in my daily life.

My practice for noticing the gray treefrog and the voices of other kin in creation — who themselves reflect God’s voice, just as our human kin do — is similar: sometimes I am intentionally trying to listen for and identify them, but often I am delighted to hear them as I go about my daily activities in the evening during warmer months. The common denominator is having “ears to hear” — a quality of attention that can become a habit through practice.

Author - Deb Baker

Deb Baker lives in Concord, NH, which is part of the Merrimack Valley.

God of all and each, you delight in every part of your creation and none, no matter how small and hidden, is beyond your attentive love. Help us to practice noticing our kin like the gray treefrog, hearing your love in its voice, so that we may learn and recognize you wherever you are in creation, and remember whose we are and who we live with in our local ecosystem. We ask this in the name of your liberating Word, Jesus. Amen.