By Mary Pannabecker Steiner

A few weeks ago, Mr. Frog showed up in our backyard. He very quickly made himself at home in our goldfish pond. I wonder what the goldfish think of him.

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He sometimes hops out to sit at the edge of the pond, usually hiding among the leaves of the water plants. Of course, as soon as a human approaches, he plops back into the water.

Today we found him swimming in the inflatable wading pool on the patio, doing his little froggie breaststroke around and around. Guess he's camera shy because he wouldn't stay still long enough for me to take a photo. Fred finally captured him in a net and I got a photo before we moved him back to the fish pond.

I love frogs. They're so cute with their big bulging eyes - especially the tiny ones we sometimes find wandering through the gardens and sometimes even in the street at the back of our property.

Ever since the girls were little, we've always had a little toad house for whatever toads decide to spend the summer with us.

We seem to be a frog-friendly family because a few weeks ago, daughter number 1 and I and the two dogs were exploring the creek behind our house.

We heard an odd squeak and saw something jump. At first we thought it was a fish, but the water level wasn't really high enough for fish to live in. Besides, neither of us had ever heard a fish squeak.

We ventured out into the water, with the dogs watching anxiously from the bank. They don't like to swim, and the idea that they might follow us into the water probably hinted too closely of a bath.

We heard another squeak and suddenly realized there were three frogs within a few feet of us. One went to the left, one forward and the third to the right.

Not willing to leave the creek until we got to see one of them close up (my daughters have inherited their stubborn streaks from me), we headed to the right.

About three feet away was the brightest, greenest - sort of lime green like Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street - frog who was either dead or a darn good actor. Of course, as soon as we turned our backs to go fetch a camera, he sprang into action - proving the acting theory.

We never did get a photo even though I went back down without the dogs a few days later to see if I could find them. No such luck. Instead, Lindsay did some Internet searching and came up with this photo that looks exactly the frogs in the creek.

Here's the question we keep asking: What's the difference between a toad and a frog?

What do you think?