Re: (Frog hunting) - and a load of XXXX

["philidor11" <philidor11@snet.net>]

<Here's what I'm getting at.  If I were to prowl my backyard, searching high
and low for little frogs, I may not have much luck finding one.  They have
lots of places to hide, and here am I spending time and energy trying to
hunt them down and prise them out.

But - if I wait quietly on my deck, a frog or two might come out of hiding.
If I am keeping an eye out for any frogs that venture out onto my lawn
below, I might have a better chance jumping down close to one.>

Assuming that the wee frog you spot is within your leaping distance.
Doesn't do you much good to see a frog across the lawn.  You might
admittedly have a better chance to prepare yourself for the frog's arrival
within range.   (Image of man on deck railing tensed to spring into action.
Image of frog hearing the crash and wondering, 'What the f%^&?!')

The whole leap and pounce and climb back business still seems like a waste
of energy, particularly if the food value of each prey item is small.  Guess
I'll have to think this through a bit more.  Notice in the following caption
describing an antique print that the rabbit does get away.  Apparently
rabbit hunting is not improved by an aerial approach.

<This is an original 1863 print showing the crash of a Hot Air Balloon.  Hot
Air Ballooning is a relatively old sport, as shown in this fascinating
print.  Hot air balloons were routinely used for surveillance in the Civil
War.  [Actually, weren't the Union balloons using hydrogen, and the
Confederate balloons, made from dress silk, the ones to use hot air?]  This
leaf contains two dramatic images of the crash of one of these earliest
balloons.  The upper image is captioned, "The French Balloon Le Grant
Sweeping Along the Earth Near Nienburg", and the illustration shows four men
falling from the large gondola.  Interestingly enough, a small rabbit is
pictured running for his life.>