By Romana 06/09/2015

Is it possible there could be an actual celestial paradise for frogs?  What is a Buddhist paradise actually like?  It doesn’t seem likely that it would be a place devoid of everything except celestial Buddhists.  Perhaps, there would be majestic scenery and even a place for frogs.  Since frogs don’t have sin, they could piggy-back with Buddhists to reach paradise.  With ethereal ponds and marshes galore, certainly, frogs would call this Frog Heaven.

The details for paradises are not known, but I discovered an actual, earthly Frog Heaven right here In Washington State.  In fact, it is in Mt. Rainier National Park.  It is located about midway between Longmire and Paradise, not far from the highway.  Since I can’t find a current picture of the place, I have to visit there to take one myself.

          I am a super-fan of frogs, and I have wanted to do this for years.   I think this is the year I will finally visit Frog Heaven.  I have a Golden Eagle Pass, so I won’t have to even pay entry fees. 

In the mid-1980’s, I worked for Boeing in the SeaTac towers.  There was a woman there named Nancy.  She told me that a former boyfriend, a fan of frogs, had once excitedly taken her to Frog Heaven, which had made her think he was going to propose.  However, upon arriving, all he said was, “Isn’t this fantastic!”  At least, there had been romance for the frogs.

Now that my girlfriend Ms. Shelton is back in my life, maybe I can take her there one day soon.  Then I would get to exclaim, “Woo hoo, isn’t this just fabulous?”   We could hold hands with the frogs…so romantic.

I know it’s a pond, so it must have the ever present duck weed, with a few water lilies interspersed. Cattails would certainly mark the edges. Though a polarizing filter would be needed to see them, sticklebacks would have been introduced to eat the mosquito larvae.  In the shallows, frog and maybe toad tadpoles would be everywhere, while salamander larvae would be hiding in the plants.  Of course, overhead, there would be millions, if not billions, of nearly invisible flying insects, creating shimmering curtains of life.

Last, but not least, there would be frogs.  A walk along the edge would spook these little guys into showing just how far they can jump.

This will be an initiation ceremony for all my new fancy cameras.  I have a lot of filters for my cameras.  Perhaps one of them could reveal the spirits of departed frogs, flittering about on gossamer wings.  This giant pond can’t just be full of a variety of frogs living their lives; then it might not qualify as Frog Heaven.  Maybe it’s a spiritual realm, too.

Imagine, the air filled with spirit frogs, as thick as gnats.  Perhaps, they would look like little faeries, flittering about, eating spirit insects.  I could hold out my hand and create a landing pad; however, away from my camera viewfinder, the air would hold nothing whatsoever.  Also, maybe to see them in the first place, I would have to have faith in the moment.