frogspawn

[mark smyth]

Can we follow frogspawn as it happens across Europe and as spring heads north? Post your photos

[mark smyth]

3rd March Larne N Ireland

[Lesley Cox]

Probably the best I'll be able to do is sago for a lemon sago pudding. Yuck!

[Tony Willis]

Mine appeared yesterday. I only have a small pond but the past two years have been a disaster for the frogs that use it. In 2009 there were 80+ pairs fighting for space. Last year 2010 only 6 pairs and this year 1. I do not know if it is the two hard winters we have had or disease but not good.

[Maggi Young]

My pals John and Rosemary always have the earliest frogspawn in the district. They've had some for a couple of weeks now but  they've also had a lot of dead frogs in the pond this year.

We've had a couple of love-lorn puddocks wandering in the garden but no action in the pond yet. The pond is quite deep and shaded so VERY cold.... I don't blame them for waiting!

[jomowi]

We've had a couple of love-lorn puddocks wandering in the garden but no action in the pond yet. The pond is quite deep and shaded so VERY cold.... I don't blame them for waiting!

There is a delightful Scots poem about a puddock:

http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/scots/puddock.htm

(There are a couple of typo errors in it: towards the bottom it should read:  .......'rale bonny singer as WEEL' and first line of second verse should be 'tae sup')

[Maggi Young]

Nice link, Maureen and I see there's there's an audio file from the BBC as well, so that any "foreigners" can hear how it sounds too  

[Hoy]

And I who believed a puddock was a "padde"  (=toad) What's the Scottish name of a toad then?
Haven't seen a single amphibian of any kind yet, and that is very abnormal at this time of the year

[Maggi Young]

In Scots you can use puddock for a frog or a toad I think.  
Some use ted for toad in the Doric  but I haven't heard that often.

[Anthony Darby]

I've spotted some (non - native) green bell-frogs (Litoria aurea) by torch light on my evening Heidi walks. The local pet shop actually sells tadpoles!

[Tony Willis]

I see on the Scottish census form it asks amongst other ethnic questions  'do you speak English, Gaelic  or Scottish' . I wonder if the form is in all three.

[jomowi]

And I who believed a puddock was a "padde"  (=toad) What's the Scottish name of a toad then?
Haven't seen a single amphibian of any kind yet, and that is very abnormal at this time of the year

From Chambers Scots Dictionary:  puddock = a frog; Cf. paddock
                                                    puddock-pony = a tadpole
                                                    paddock= a frog; a toad; a term of reproach or contempt; a low, frog shaped sledge for carrying large stones.
In addition there are numerous hyphenated words with different meanings e.g. paddock-rud = frog or toadspawn; paddock-spue = frogspawn.
A frog or toad can also be a paddow, or a frog a paddy or pady.  I'm not aware of any of these alternative words being in common usage, but it could vary according to which part of Scotland you are in or just fallen from usage?  I think puddock is the term which endears itself to most folk.

[Hoy]

Very interesting, Maureen! Paddy etc has to be the same as Norw. "padde" I usually have some of them living in my garden, and at my summerhouse I have several big ones!

[Lesley Cox]

I see on the Scottish census form it asks amongst other ethnic questions  'do you speak English, Gaelic  or Scottish' . I wonder if the form is in all three.

One could just answer "NO."

Many many years ago on a NZ census paper, one question was "Was you mother born in wedlock?" My grandfather answered "Was yours?"

[FrazerHenderson]

Mark, 27th February, spawn in my garden pond, central scotland