The Ugly Frog (tm)

Welcome to The Ugly Frog!

Hi! Mr. John here. Welcome to The Ugly Frog (tm). The Ugly Frog is the name of my fishing Kayak and it's the name of this blog! What an amazing coincidence! OR AM I the ugly frog?!? Anyway, welcome! The things I enjoy in life most include being in nature and shooting nature photos, kayaking and kayak fishing, and reading classic literature, drawing here and there and other creative things (and more of course). Here, you can enjoy those things with me! You may say: "John, your site is so basic! no fancy frills!" Correct. . . . no cheap thrills. I am old school and program it myself with basic HTML in a note document (I'm a high tech coder!). I create all the amazing graphics myself too! haha. . all photography etc are my own. No stock photography here! All mine. Simple. Basic. Hope you don't mind.

Note: all links are to subpages internal to my site here. If there is an external link, I will note that it is an external link.

My Thoughts on "Pearl by the Sea" by Regina Mouradian

I recently, this morning, 17 April 2026 finished reading Pearl by the Sea by Regina Mouradian and my thoughts on it are HERE!!!!

My Thoughts on McTeague by Frank Norris

On 18 April 2026 I finished reading McTeague by Frank Norris and my thoughts are posted here. My Thoughts on McTeague

Now will be staring "The Dubliners" by James Joyce. Join Me?

Is it Kayak Fishing Season Yet? ! ?

Kayak Fishing in Michigan

did I mention I like coffee?

That is also the way to perhaps join my email list!
see terms for frog mail

I finished The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett on 15 April 2025 and my thoughts are up on the literature time tab! enjoy! Next up is "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. Join me?

Welcome to 2026 Hiking & Nature Photography Season!

I kicked off the 2026 hiking and nature photography season with two adventures to Fort Gratiot Nature Pond. One on the 1st day of Spring and the other on 29 March 2026. You can enjoy the recap and photos in the hiking section! Looking forward to many more miles this year of hiking and nature photography and adding some new venues and states to my adventures!