I haven’t gone on any camping trips this summer, but I’ve had the tent up in the backyard a few times. Today I took it down for perhaps the last time this season. It had been up for a couple weeks and last night when I slept out there I was freezing! It seems silly to sleep in the backyard and be cold when I have a perfectly fine bed in a heated home.

Right?

Still, I feel sad to put it away.

I’m also sad because I didn’t get Penny comfortable with the tent this summer, though we tried several times. Out of all our attempts to sleep out there together, she made it through an entire night only once.

I have great hope for next summer though.

Today as I disassembled the tent I found the usual daddy long-leg spiders hanging out. I always find a few of those, no matter if I’m in my backyard or at a campground. I don’t know what attracts them to the tent. I always move them gently to a shrub nearby.

Today, here in my own backyard, I found a couple more insects hiding out. I don’t know what either of these is.

The dark one looked kind of scary, and when I went to move it off the tent it leaped off on it’s own. I only jumped a little.

But the most surprising thing I found under the rain fly, but still on the outside of the tent, were four, yes four, tiny tree frogs.

They are adorable and about the size of a dime, maybe a little bigger.

I’ve never found tree frogs on my tent before. I wonder about these guys and what caused them to climb up the tent and hide in the folds and under straps.

I hope I found them all.

Next season maybe I’ll put the tent up in a spot further away from the woods.

Until then I’ll dream of listening to the frogs and bugs and coyotes sing all night while I’m snug in my real bed nice and warm.