Lori Dyers, age 14, of Coventry, Rhode Island, for her question:

Where are the frogs in the winter?

Their busy season ends before the first frost arrives. The following months of winter are intolerable to the frogs for several reasons. For one thin, they are cold blooded creatures who bet their body heat from their surroundings. All living cells need warmth in order to function and since frogs have no thermostats, they cannot abide the cold winter weather. However, nature instructs them to take the proper precautions to protect themselves until springy.

You may skate over a pond, never guessing, that frogs are hibernating safely buried in the mud below the ice and caster. Others are sleeping soundly in assorted frog sized crannies throughout the woods and meadows. The frisky frogs that added such merriment to the summer season are now dropouts from the winter weather. Even if they could abide the cold, they would face a grocery shortage because their staple insect food has departed.

Elaborate preparations for this dropout season begins in the fall. Then a sensible frog is busy devouring every bug and grub that his fast flicking tongue can grab. He intends to take on extra fat that will be absorbed gradually during the foodless months ahead. As the days grow cooler, he loses his pep and starts seeking a suitable cubbyhole. Being, an amphibian, he is at home on land or in the water. He may choose a hibernation den in either environment.

In any case, he will select a frog sized cubbyhole where he can rest undisturbed. He may wriggle into a small cavity among some stones, snuggle under a pile of fallen leaves or find a suitable pocket in a log or old tree stump. If he happens to find a deserted burrow in the ground, he tucks himself inside.