I nearly stepped on the subject of this column. One more step without looking at the ground, and the critter would have been underfoot. Thankfully, I looked down just in time.

I was taking my daily short walk at work and rounding the final bend when I looked down to see a gray tree frog. It was directly in the middle of the trail, and since tree frogs can change color to match the environment, it was difficult to spot.

To make matters worse, it just sat there instead of hopping away frantically like most frogs encountered in the wild. You’d never see a leopard frog or wood frog just sitting there on the trail. They start scampering away like their feet are on fire long before they are nearly underfoot. But this tree frog just sat there.

The ability to change color to match the environment has always fascinated me. Gray tree frogs are gray or brown when in trees and green when on the ground, assuming the surroundings are green. They also have lichen-like markings on their backs to further camouflage their presence.

As a kid, I was intrigued by chameleons and anoles. I loved their appearance but was mostly in awe of their ability to change color. Remember when pet shops were a big thing in shopping malls? I can remember making a beeline to the pet store when we visited the mall and heading directly to the reptile section to look at the Jackson’s chameleons. Their three “horns” and pivoting, protruding eyes were captivating. I also wanted to see what color they would be every time I visited. They were always green or brown or a combination of those colors.

This recent gray tree frog encounter reminded me that I don’t see these frogs very often. The frogs like it that way, of course, as they live solitary lives mostly in trees. They wouldn’t blend in so well with their environment if they wanted attention. I was probably six or seven the first time I saw one. We often heard them in our backyard in Niskayuna, New York, but never saw them. Until one day, one of my brothers found one in the Y of a tree and called everyone over to see. They were fascinating then, and they are fascinating now.

A gray tree frog’s best defense is its ability to blend in with its surroundings. That’s likely why it sat in the middle of the trail and did not move. Even as I bent over and approached with my iPhone, the frog sat still. I took a few pictures and then stepped away to observe it a bit longer. I never did see it move, but I’m assuming it hopped off shortly after I left and found a tree to shelter in.

Later, when I did an internet search on gray tree frogs to learn more about these creatures, I discovered something else interesting: it’s unclear whether tree frog is one word or two. I would say more sources spell it as one word, but many reliable sources, such as the Smithsonian National Zoo and New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife, spell it as two words. Two words makes more sense to me, so I went with two words for this column. (It is also found as gray and grey, but let’s not even get into that right now.)

Whichever way you spell it or whatever color it happens to be at the time, you can’t deny that it’s a treat to find such a rare sighting.

Jennifer from Swanzey, N.H., sent in a photo of a gray tree frog that spent all spring and summer in a birdhouse on her property.