First, a quick note: If you haven’t already read PART 1 of this blog please click here to get caught up.
Well fortified, the team develops a plan of attack...
I was in a bit of a rush so I grabbed the first bottle of wine I came across in the Cellar — the 2003 Michel-Schlumberger syrah. I’ve always worshipped the syrah from our Benchland vineyards so the fact the wine tasted KILLER was no surprise. What was a bit out of the ordinary was the occasion. It was late at night and the four us polished off that bottle of syrah while sitting on the dock at Lake Schlumberger in pitch dark under a sea of stars, dressed in rubber waders and sporting headlamps, binoculars and dip nets. And talking about frogs. And when this very civil strategy session was complete we flipped on our lights and waded into the black water in search of the Red-Legged Frog.
Frogs, it turns out, are actually fairly easy to spot in the dark. Their eyes reflect the light back when spotted with a powerful headlamp. A quick glance around with the lights revealed numerous glowing eyes along the shoreline. We also spotted the glowing eyes of a very confused Mother Goose sitting on her eggs in The Love Nest in the middle of the lake!
Natasha spots a big one...
Once a frog was spotted we were usually able to slowly creep up on it (much like a heron fishing in shallow water) until Natasha was close enough to make the identification. Making a positive i.d. in the light of a headlamp through binoculars while crouching in cold, dark water is truly a talent and Natasha has plenty of it. The most abundant and noisiest frog, by far, is the Sierra Tree Frog. These tiny little guys drove me crazy because you could be virtually standing on top of one, right over where the frog was still loudly croaking away, but it was almost impossible to actually see it. The Bullfrogs were much, much larger and, therefore, much easier to spot. And if the stalking went well Natasha could get close enough to deftly scoop the dipnet right under the specimen and scoop it up out of the water. When I tried I found that the scooping part was pretty easy but keeping a large, agitated frog in the net until I could get a hold of it properly was downright comical. Although the survey required quiet and calm we spent quite a bit of time laughing hysterically each time I would net a frog only to have it launch several feet right back out of the net to the safety of the water like a Calaveras County champion!
Our floating quarry, eyes glowing, just offshore...
Natasha begins her approach...
Working for position. It's best to creep up on the frog from behind...
A split second later and the frog is in the net!
It's a Bullfrog. Decent sized but no monster. Actually kinda cute...
So we waded and surveyed and laughed till around midnight. And no Red-Legged Frogs were spotted. But I haven’t given up. In the end, we were only able to survey a fraction of the frog habitat on the Estate. And now that I know the basics of frogging technique and identification I’m more ready than ever to continue the quest. I guess mostly because the quest is so darn fun.
Hugh makes a new friend.
So, Question O’ The Day: What in the world do frogs have to do with world class wines? The Answer: Everything. Frogs, you see, are very sensitive to pesticides and habitat destruction. A pond teeming with frogs (and turtles and fish) indicates a very healthy, pristine ecosystem. Combine that with vineyards sporting lush, green, permanent cover crops to support beneficial bugs, bees and birds and it’s no wonder that you’ve got some seriously happy vines. And happy vines make great wines that make great, happy people. It’s that simple.
Tony
