Australian Variscite frog carved by Zuni carver Ricky Laahty (signed)Variscite Frog Necklace and Earrings
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Ricky Laahty doesn't seem to carve particular species of frogs though this reminds me of our Pacific Tree Frog. However, its pretty color reminds me of the Bumpy Vernal Pool Incident. The Medicine Cards give frog "cleansing" so the Water element ally Variscite (per Ahsian, below) is the perfect stone for a frog. Ted Andrews emphasizes metamorphosis and fertility in relation to frog.
This little frog reminds me of a time when I was working ridiculous hours managing a project in the '70s. The programmers and engineers would work during the day, I'd spend most nights doing the builds and debugging the new code and hardware. I'd go home at 4 or 5AM, drag myself back in by 10 or 11 and do it again... except on Sundays. I took Sundays off, and would often go for a hike Sunday morning before going home to get some sleep. At that time, Sorrento Valley wasn't built up like it is today, it was a beautiful chaparral climax community of little hills and valleys, replete with vernal pools (a vanishing San Diego treasure) during rainy periods. The morning of the Incident was foggy, the sun was just starting to come up and banish the moist salty air. I walked a long way on a mesa and came upon a large vernal pool. From a distance its surface was beautifully iridescent with odd static bumps. As I approached, I was trying to figure out what on earth I was seeing. Vernal pools are shallow bodies of water, they support fantastically diverse communities and are a precious resource in our dry climate. Unfortunately we have decimated the pools in our relentless lust for "development." We had a situation here in which we were trying to protect our seriously endangered Mesa Mint and the developer simply bulldozed a bunch of it because the legal haggling was slowing up his project. How can one communicate with a person who would knowingly destroy the last remaining individuals of an entire species? Philosophy Professor Holmes Rolston III said, "Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place where they live." As we begin to glimpse the subtleties, complexity and complete interdependence of the vast web of life, we begin to realize that those lost pages affect the health and well being of every living thing.
But at any rate, on this morning none of this devastation had yet occurred. The morning was fresh and pristine, the environment (more) natural. And in front of me was an inexplicably bumpy pool, glistening in fantastic colors. What on earth?! Turns out it was full of bullfrogs who were sitting on the bottom of the shallow pool with their heads above the surface. Our American bullfrogs can get huge, their bodies up to 8" long and with very long powerful legs. Unfortunately these guys have been introduced into most of California where they do not belong and where they easily out-compete native species because of their size and strength, though they do provide lunch for our amazing Great Blue Herons. That morning I came face to face with aliens, and they were radiantly beautiful.
This necklace includes turquoise, coral and a handmade bead by Karen Ovington which picks up all the colors in the other elements. It is casual and colorful and might remind you to get out of the office and take a walk in a natural area. Surprises are everywhere! Please consider this piece if froggy calls to you today.
