There was a brand new road sign when I visited a new listing the other day. Frog Mortar Road is one of those funny Baltimore-area names, this one in the Bowleys Quarters area of Baltimore County. There's also a Frog Mortar Creek that feeds into Middle River and then to the Chesapeake Bay.

I was there to show the home to fellow Active Rain member Pat Hommel who drove up from Annapolis to meet me. Pat works with a lot of waterfront properties, and was interested to see this house with its great river frontage. I'm told there are a lot of frogs in the area (don't ask me about the "Mortar" part of the name – I don't even want to think about that!)

What I didn't know was that my sellers have a love for the hopping amphibians…they are everywhere! As we walked through the 10,000 square foot contemporary home, I kind of felt like I was on a ship – that's how much glass with water views the house offers, right up to the studio's round window. And scattered throughout there were frogs. I learned there is even a web site devoted to frogs: http://allaboutfrogs.org/. It reminded me of other collections I've seen in homes over the years, everything from turtles to trains, and hippos to butterflies…and now frogs.

I had to smile each time I saw another example, and each frog in the home has a story. One even lights up at night, and I noticed a great big Christmas frog stored in the carriage house. The owner's favorite is a fat happy fellow who sits in the marble foyer as a greeter, but I have to say mine is the guy in the hammock outside, kicking back and enjoying life. 

Frogs make me smile. How about you?