<![CDATA[Carol Ellis Photography

<![CDATA[Carol Ellis Photography - JOURNAL]]>Sat, 03 Oct 2026 18:04:13 -0400EditMySite<![CDATA[Cuban Tree Frog]]>Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:57:53 GMThttps://www.carolellis.com/journal/cuban-tree-frogOur Canadian friend George was seated on the toilet when suddenly something jumped from inside the bowl and attached firmly to his family jewels. This rugged and stoic hunk of a real man bolted up, freed the frog from his hang me down and ran outside to distance himself from the critter. A Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)… AKA Frogzilla (Godzilla has nothing on this guy)… was in the most sacred room of the house and George wanted as much distance between he and it as possible.

Florida was never George’s favorite place and this incident did not improve the situation. Tree frogs are associated with trees like Canadians are to hockey rinks. It is totally natural for a tree frog to climb a tree. They have specially suited suction cupped toes that make them excellent climbers. Once up in the tree the frog jumps onto the roof of a house where they seek out the warmth of the shingles.

By the mid-1920s, Cuban Tree Frogs arrived in the Florida Keys via cargo, such as bananas, transported on ships.

Once warmed up, they start searching for a cooler area, and the toilet vent pipe is often the place. Frogs can fall into your bathroom vent pipe and that’s how they end up in the toilet. This incident never would have happened if George had simply cut back the trees that hung over his roof and installed a wire mesh screen over the toilet vent pipe. These frogs are known to be nuisance pests that often invade plumbing systems, toilets and sink drains, but can also can cause havoc with utilities and make a general mess wherever they hide.

Cover roof vent pipes with hardware cloth to prevent entry into buildings by Cuban Tree Frogs. Credit: UF/IFAS

This Cuban Tree Frog apparently likes the warmth of the vehicle’s hood.

During the day they seek out cool places, often under shutters and between patio doors. Each Spring when we lubricate the accordion shutters before hurricane season, we always find stains down the wall behind the panels where the frogs have been hiding. As we close the shutters the frogs emit mucous that is noxious to humans and pets, and can cause an allergic reaction and trigger asthma.

At night Cuban tree frogs are attracted by lights, which attract bugs and provide a powerful incentive for tree frogs looking for a meal.

During the day the Cuban Tree Frog seeks shelter under shutters and around screen doors. This polite invader tries to use the door knocker to gain access.

There is nothing more tropical than the croak of frogs on a humid summer evening. It starts with a single utterance from a lone frog, then seconds later another chimes in, and before you know it is an out of tune stereophonic chorus resonating from the pond, the hedges, the tree tops, the gutter track and rainwater cistern. Be quiet and and listen, as there is no way you can talk over the noise.

What was the Grimm brothers message in their fairy tale The Frog Prince? Was it that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Some may see a frog, but the princess sees something more beautiful, so she kisses the frog and a curse is broken and the frog becomes her handsome prince. It reminds me of an incident that happened during my sailing days, at English Harbor, Antigua. The Captains daughter, who was about 5 years old at the time, paused to marvel at a frog sitting on a tree. As she grew closer, the frog jumped onto her face! Yikes. No prince appeared however. Frogs are a bit creepy, and slimy but also beautiful in their creation.

The Frog Prince: Grimm Fairy Tales. The moral of the story: beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Since the first Cuban Tree frogs were discovered in Key West they have progressively spread north to the Florida mainland most likely by the construction of State Road AIA in the 1940’s, on trucks full of plants and produce, and now are firmly established as far north as South Carolina. Its ability to thrive in urban areas have made it highly invasive. Cuban Tree Frogs are commonly available in pet stores.

Cubans are the largest tree frogs, varying in size from 2 to 5.5 inches in length. They eat insects, but also prey on our native tree frogs, including their tadpoles. The invasive Cuban variety outcompete our native tree frogs such as the American Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea) which is only 1 to 3 inches long and the Squirrel Tree Frog (Hyla squirella) which is smaller, only 1 to 1-1/2 inches long. A Cuban female can lay several hundred to 1000 eggs at a time, and eggs hatch in 30 hours and tadpoles can fully develop in one month.

The native American Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea) grows to 1 - 3 inches long. Credit: UF/IFAS

The native Squirrel Tree Frog (Hyla squirella), is only 1 to 1-1/2 inches long and are rapidly disappearing due to predation by the invasive Cuban Tree Frog. Credit: UF/IFAS

Features that can help identify Cuban Tree Frogs are their large physical size and larger sticky pads on their toes. They can change color and patterns, and can be white, beige, brown, yellow, green or combinations of these colors. Their skin is rough and warty.

Cubans are considered invasive, so you can attempt to contain them by making a Tree Frog House. By removing Cuban tree frogs, you can help Florida's native tree frogs survive. This link to a UF extension publication explains more: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW308

Cuban tree frogs are mostly gray, brown, or green. This young frog, resting on an orchid leaf has a more greenish color than an adult.

]]><![CDATA[A Transformative Moment - Interior Design Wall Art]]>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.carolellis.com/journal/a-transformative-moment-interior-design-wall-artThe most life altering thing for me as a film photographer was when digital photographic sensors became capable of finer detail than the human eye could see. The higher the number of pixels per inch, found on the larger sensor of my medium format Hasselblad digital camera, allowed me to produce oversized prints on a wide format printer that could literally fill a room.

The only hitch was the image needed oversized mounting and framing since we were still in a world with framed prints. Today that same photo can be printed on many more substrates including lightweight canvas, vinyl, and materials with self-adhesive backing which can be applied directly on the wall.

The 10 ft high by 7’ ft wide wall mural “Pretzel in a Tree” creates an impressive focal point when you enter the Grayvik Center - home of ORCAT.

My recent installation of two large wall murals at the Grayvick Animal Center - Home of ORCAT shows how oversized wall murals can have a huge impact in a room. The sheer magnitude of the image “Pretzel in a Tree” creates an impressive focal point when you enter the building. Your eyes go straight up the stairs to the 7 ft wide by 10 ft tall mural of a feral cat seated on a branch surrounded by foliage. The larger than life cat looms over a room full of cats, and the greenery brings the outside in.

Though cats are not capable of visual self-recognition, I’d like to think the calico Honeybell approved of the 8 ft wide by 5 ft tall mural.

A second image greets you when you visit the restroom. A super-sized cat “Honeybell” is seated in a basket on a mural that measures 8’ wide x 5’ tall. The actual Honeybell lives in the cat room and I brought her in to see her larger-than-life-sized self. Though cats are not capable of visual self-recognition, they recognize individuals using scent and touch, I’d like to think she approved of my work.

The capabilities today with digital print and multi-surface materials allow designers and artists to be more creative. Photographers tend to “pixel-peep”… that is, when we get engaged with looking at every tiny detail on the computer screen, detail more fine and complete than our eyes can normally see.

Incredible moments happen when you least expect them, that’s why photographers should always carry their cameras. When I don’t have my best camera and I see something interesting to photograph, I get upset with myself. That is because the camera’s larger sensor packs more pixels together in a small area which give us finer detail. An iPhone, whose images look amazing on the small phone screen, lack terribly for artwork when called on for enlargement.

Phones are for memories, but I am looking for images that takes my breath away. The mural of “Pretzel in a Tree” was actually an assignment. The interior designer had a fantastic image taken by Kayla, one of the employees at the facility. It was a spontaneous “you had to be there moment” that Kayla captured magically with an old iPhone. A problem arose when the print facility said the image was too small pixel-wise, it could not be printed to fill a wall. The designer was searching for another image when I offered to recreate the photo with my medium format Hasselblad camera. Seriously…. The assignment was to find a cooperative feral cat, stick it in a tree, have it pose just like the spontaneous iPhone shot, and take dozens of good shots to get the proper expression. The cat must have realized that I needed the shot, and she complied. Kayla was amazed at how the cat just sat there motionless as I worked the scene. Even the decorator said, how did you do that? Well it must have been my divine photo assistant.

Put into a 4 ft wide by 5 ft tall canvas collage is an impressive visual history representative of ORCAT’s mission.

The capabilities available today with digital print, multi-surface media and mixed media content are far beyond what was traditionally available.

Canvas is also a great option for interior wall art, and is 45% of the wall art market segment according to Fortune Business Insights. Canvas is widely available, lightweight, easy to handle and displays can be made of three or more pieces. At the Grayvik Animal Center I created a collage of dozens of the cats they have rescued since the organization was founded. Many of the pictures were snapshots, which were scanned, and then put into a 4 ft wide by 5 ft tall canvas collage. It is an impressive visual history representative of their mission.

]]><![CDATA[Critters - Stray and Homeless Cats]]>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:19:23 GMThttps://www.carolellis.com/journal/critters-stray-and-homeless-catsTalk about taking your job seriously. While writing this article about the feral cat situation in the Keys, I adopted a shelter kitten.

Since my first little grey kitty, adopted in 1984, I have always had two cats. Unfortunately back then, as an inexperienced mom, I left out some yarn, the cat ate it, causing her death when its intestines became entangled. Why are there so many cute pictures of kittens with balls of yarn? My ensuing adopted cats: LC, Dolly, Ansie, and calicos Callie and Miely Bug thrived with lots of love and awareness of possible dangers lurking around the house. When Miely Bug passed of old age, I said she was my last, since Miely was the best. If you were to ask any cat that, they would reply “Yes, I am the best.”

Anna Kent loving on a shelter cat at Upper Keys Humane Society. Socialization with humans is a key component of “finishing school” which ensures kitten adoption success.

About a year later, my heart having healed, my stance had changed to “I’m looking for a calico.” In October 2025, I agreed to foster a 6 week old kitten. It wasn’t a calico but it was a survivor. It was one of two kittens that had been abandoned in the wild, not yet weaned and lacking skills for survival. When rescued, both kittens had wounds, and were in poor condition. One sibling eventually died. After weeks of medical care, and bottle feeding, I received my foster kitten complete with missing fur and healing sores, but full of love. Immediately after bringing her home, my husband picked her up and kissed her. I knew there was no returning her. Over the weeks and months she grew into the most perfect companion, rarely leaving my husbands side.

What makes people think that abandoning kittens in a box at a dumpster or by the side of the road is a good thing? But it happens too often. Cats are dumped by their owners when they are moving out of the Keys. In the last decade, our islands have become home to another non-native species courtesy of pet stores and snake owners, the Burmese python, an efficient predator of furry creatures such as possum, raccoon, woodrat and possibly cats and little white dogs.

The minute the foster kitty was in our home, we knew there was no going back. Nikita grew into the most perfect companion.

Nikita posing on a pedestal. If you ask any cat they will tell you they are the best.

Thankfully there are people who care, and are making a difference. There are a number of options in the Upper Keys to address the feral cat problem. Feral cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, tested for feline AIDS and leukemia and then are hopefully adopted. ORCAT is Ocean Reef’s Trap-Neuter-Release program that began in the 1980’s when the Keys had a serious cat overpopulation problem. At the time there was an estimated 10,000 feral cats that had been abandoned or lost in the Keys.

The Humane Coalition Shelter at mile marker 106 ocean side is the county facility. Marsha Garrettson who privatized the coalition in 1998 sums up her dedication by saying “I thought I could fix the problem.” She realizes you can’t fix the problem through adoption, you must focus on birth.

Medical Director Dr. Shirley Thomas, Manager Karla Perrine, President Vivianne Wicker standing outside UKHS at MM 101.6 oceanside.

“By providing free spays and neuters to the citizen’s animals living in our service area (MM 70 to MM 112) beginning July 2000 has had a direct effect in reducing the average number of animals coming into the Shelter each year from 1,642 to 241.”

The industry of breeding, buying and selling is the core problem. All shelters are full as a result. There are no shortage of animals. If you closed every pet store, and shut down every breeder, there would still be cats and dogs needing homes. That’s just the way it is. A cat can be nursing and still get pregnant and have another litter in just two months. A portion of society does not care. Owners with pets that get pregnant and produce more puppies or kittens, are not doing their job.

In 2000, Bob Barker, TV personality on “The Price is Right” provided financial support to the Humane Animal Coalition at MM 106.

A feral cat in North Key Largo.

According to the website at humaneanimalcoalition.com: “By providing free spays and neuters to the citizen’s animals living in our service area (MM 70 to MM 112) beginning July 2000 has had a direct effect in reducing the average number of animals coming into the Shelter each year from 1,642 to 241.”

Another organization The Upper Keys Humane Society (MM 101.6 oceanside) is also doing their part finding homes for abandoned animals. So far this year they have spay and neutered 400+ animals. Their animals become socialized through their foster program and the Cat Cafe where kittens mingle with their visitors during visiting hours. Check their website at ukhsociety.org for more info.

Our new calico kitty.... Looking forward to having her inside our home.

Cats do not belong in the wild. Domestic cats are efficient hunters, and their natural predatory instincts have negatively affected our resident and migratory songbird population. I love birds as much as I love my cats. So the cats stay in, and stay safe.

My new kitty… she is a calico. She’ll be spayed by the time this story is published. Looking forward to having her inside our home.

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