bullfrogs, thistles and spurge laurel

I was out for a walk this morning and noticed that someone has cut the tops of the thistles all along the road near our place. Thank you! Cutting the flowers and stopping them from spreading at this time of year is helpful to keep these invasive plants from taking over.

James reminded me last night that if I don't kill the bullfrogs in our pond, they'll eat all those wonderful chorus frogs that are just now turning into frogs from tadpoles. They also eat the dragonflies and butterflies apparently too! 

Then there's the spurge laurel that is moving up island from a patch initially planted by residents that don't live here anymore. 

Sometimes it seems that invasive species should just be left alone, but they do take out the native species that live here. Lots of experiments on this have been done, and as hard as it seems, weeding out these invasives are essential for the life of native species and biodiversity.