Fountains in the South

About once a month, I have to clean out the two fountains I have.  One is located on the front porch, and the other is hanging on the back wall of the house.  I keep these as a source of water for most of the animals that live around the neighborhood.  Most mornings, when I go out on the front porch, there are dog tracks, and sometimes raccoon tracks leading to the fountain.  If there’s mud, it’s definitely the coons. One morning I came out to find that someone had actually thrown up in the fountain.  There were two teenagers living here when that happened, but of course, they knew nothing about it. 

The other fountain, in the back, has different customers.  There are lots of anoles that hang out nearby, and it seems to be the preferred drinking source for all the squirrels.  In the underworld of the fountain, those hollow places that are hidden to plain sight, live the tree frogs, specifically, Cope’s Gray Tree Frogs.  In the wintertime, the algae isn’t so bad, and I can usually clean the fountain carefully, allowing the frogs to stay hidden.  However, in the summer, the algae grows at a phenomenal rate, and I am forced to use a small amount of bleach to clear the lines and reclaim its appearance.  Each time I bail out the fountain and remove it from the wall, I search in all those hidden places to remove the frogs, so they won’t be hurt. I even donk it on the ground to jar out whatever is hidden. However, those little bastards always somehow escape my efforts. Never mind that they are cold and clammy to the touch, and I hate sticking my hands in places I can’t see... They just won’t cooperate.  This morning, once again, I discovered a frog in my bleach water.  I took him out quickly and washed him off with the hose, hoping this wasn’t his last bleaching.  It always dismays me since there are so few of them left in the world.  I certainly don’t want to contribute to their demise.  But what is a southern gardener to do? So after the cleaning, I go around and chase after the former occupants and put them back in the fountain till next time.