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Frozen Frogs
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There's a frog in your backyard that's about to freeze solid.
It's the wood frog, and it lives all over New England.
The first freeze usually sweeps across New England in October.
Its body floods with sugar, a homemade antifreeze.
About two-thirds of the water in its body turns to ice.
Its heart stops. It stops breathing.
In spring, it thaws out and hops away.
So maybe go easy on the raking this fall. There might be a frog under there.
And you thought your winters were rough.
Somewhere in the woods near you, a wood frog will spend this winter frozen, then thaw out and hop away in spring.
Data: NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals (first 32F dates), plus wood frog physiology from Storey and Storey (Biofactors, 2020), Layne, Lee and Heil (1989) and the National Park Service, and winter habitat from Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.