We love it here in the mountains. We started coming up here two or three times a year when H started camp in second grade. The minute we drive through the Smoky Mountains into North Carolina, the calm, peaceful, stress-relieving feelings just kind of ooze over us. Last year we finally bought a little place with the exact view that J wanted…the smaller, private, no-motorboat Lake Cardinal with the three mountains in the background.We’ve been here now for two weeks, and our idyllic little peaceful place not so perfect anymore. Sure, the weather is spectacular, the lake is beautiful, the biking, hiking, tennis, running, and boating are all great, but we’ve been invaded by some kind of huge, monster bullfrogs. We have a little man-made waterfall on the side of the house, which makes a wonderfully trickling sound when we sit on the balcony. Only thing is, the frogs like it, too. And it’s not a cute little frog sound. It’s loud, grating, can-be-heard-through-locked-doors-and-TV sound.

Someone told J to put bleach in the water, because the frogs didn’t like it. Our frogs must thrive on the stuff, because the more bleach he puts in, the louder they get. Then he went to the hardware store and got more advice…put netting on top of the water to keep them out, and spread mothballs all around. He was a man on a mission. I came home from a run and before I even got to the house I smelled the mothball/bleach combination. Like my grandmother’s attic combined with a swimming pool. That night we left to go to dinner and when we came back we listened…silence. Almost. There was one little squeaky “ribbit” sound. We thought we were on the right track until the next morning, when J took out the trash and found a big squished frog next to my car. I was devastated. I wanted to get rid of them, but I didn’t want to kill them while they were making their big getaway! I feel guilty every time I think of it. But underneath the guilt was a tiny bit of relief. Maybe the word got out that this was a dangerous place and the frogs would stay away. And they did…for awhile.

But last night we got home from dinner and this is what we found. The volume doesn’t do it justice. Imagine it multiplied by 100 and hearing it through walls. All night.

So J is at the hardware store this morning. To be continued.