More signs of spring

In more signs that spring has come - and possibly also that the weather has vaulted straight through to early summer - the frogs are out. The sight of a frog with a cherry blossom petal on its head is too good to be true. Friendly blighters too.

In other countries of the world such a sight would be rare, and frogs are considered to be denizens only of the rare wilderness. We found one of these cute little green fellas hopping around outside the door to our house, and the bullfrogs are singing outside my office at the University. These pictures were taken 5 minutes' bicycle ride from our house (in the deeps of the wilderness, since Japanese cities become hillside and forest very fast).

So spring is here. No more snow, no more cold, just the music of frogs and insects from here until November. You can almost feel the whole world breathing a sigh of relief that the nasty business of ice and snow is gone, even though this year was mild, and the summer promises to be ferociously hot. But I don't care; the sooner summer comes on, the sooner my inevitable spring allergies fade, and I can venture outside to enjoy the frogs and insects, whose voices now herald the oncoming Pollen Wave of Doom.