Raising Tadpoles (Day 101) - Nearly Driving into a Tornado
Day 101
Finally managed to bring 37 of the frogs to the wholesaler today. I had to get up early this morning and transfer the juvenile frogs into their respective holding cases. Since I had already placed the hand towels in each with water, I simply had to spend the next hour moving all 37 frogs that were leaving. By the time I was out the door, it was absolutely pouring out, the type of rain that makes you question whether you're walking or swimming. It took three trips between the house and the truck and my shoes, pants, and jacket were completely soaked through, by the end of the first...
In order to get to the city, there are three main routes, one involves the backroads and is usually the quickest, one involves the highways, and the third involves driving through the heart of two small towns along the way. I ruled out the first due to the high likelihood of flooding, but was then split between routes two and third, I made a snap decision and ruled out the third due to similar concerns about road flooding potential. A few minutes later, a tornado warning goes through to the phones stating that a tornado warning was now in effect (while I'm in a state that averages 2 to 3 tornadoes a year). After I returned from the wholesaler's an hour later, I checked the news and realized that there had been a second unannounced, "high-end EF-1", tornado that had hit not only the town but the exact street I would have been on had I decided to head that way at around the same time. Thankfully, there were no fatalities (injuries TBD) according to the national weather service.
To punctuate the day, after leaving the wholesaler's building, as I was attempting to open the truck door, the empty tanks slipped out of my hand and shattered. Replacing them would result in no longer being able to financially breakeven on this endeavor (somehow a 5 gallon plastic tank is $10 more expensive than a 10 gallon glass tank), therefore, I'll just have to use the 5 gallon water change bucket for any temporary holding purposes that arise. I'll also begin contacting local pet stores directly for better financial offers and, at this point, perhaps safety considering the last two times I've attempted to meet with the wholesaler, I've broken my toe and then ended up getting hit with an extreme weather event. At this point, about the only thing left is a meteor strike in terms of escalation.
Current Totals:
12 - 10 gallon (Froglet Tank)
30 - 20 gallon (Tadpole Tank) [3 Near Froglets, 27 Tadpoles]
37 - Wholesaler
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Apologies for the long delay between posting Day 100 and Day 101, I'll be back to releasing these posts daily until I reach the end of the series at Day 150 now.