TOAD AWAY HER FROG COLLECTION, WARTS AND ALL.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The first warning of what's inside Linda Willis' green house is the dozen or so statuettes of smiling frogs with welcome signs guarding the front door. Once inside, one can clearly see that the home belongs to a frog lover.

Ceramic, plastic and felt frogs sit on couches and tables, peep out of plants and line shelves on the walls. A shelf made by Willis' father is covered with tiny frogs, while the newest addition, a frog lamp, sits on her piano.

``I have billions of frogs; they're just everywhere,'' said Willis, who started collecting 31 years ago when she was in a service club whose mascot was a frog. ``You swapped secret-sister presents, and everybody gave each other frogs.''

A little girl visiting Willis' house tried once to count her frogs without success.

``She got frustrated when she got to about 500,'' said Willis. ``I don't even know. ... Somewhere around a thousand would be a starting number.''

Part of Willis' collection is on display this year at the Antelope Valley Fair.

In recognition of the 25th anniversary of ``The Muppet Show,'' Willis is displaying at the fair close to 100 images of its host, Kermit the Frog. The display includes Kermit dolls, dishes, wrapping paper and toys, the oldest from 1976, one year before ``The Muppet Show'' began.

Willis feels a special affinity to Kermit, since she was born in 1956, the year he first appeared on television, and she likes his personality.

Some of her more interesting frog images are ones which friends and family have brought her from 23 countries around the world.

A snow globe she received from her boss has a frog next to a ladder with a sign which says ``Climb to the Top'' in German. A Japanese exchange student she hosted mailed her a Hello Kitty doll in a frog suit.

The foreign frogs also include the tiniest frog in her collection, a stone carving from Chile, given to her by her niece.

``A lot of this has been collected over a lot of years,'' said Willis, standing in her kitchen. Next to the kitchen door, a large Kermit wearing sun glasses sits in a high chair in front of frog decorated kids' dishes. A frog spoon holder sits on the stove surrounded by frog pot holders, and even the backsplash on her sink has a single frog tile.

``We've tried a moratorium several times, and then it comes right back,'' said Willis. ``I don't buy everything I see, God forbid, because you wouldn't be able to move in here.''

Even her car in the garage, which is parked next to boxes of holiday frogs, has the license plate: PHROGGI. ``I saw the spelling in a children's book. ... I thought, that's pretty neat. So I applied, and it was available, and I've had it for 15 years,'' said Willis.

Willis said her husband, Steve, is comfortable with the frogs and even contributes to the collection, once buying a dress shirt from a thrift store covered with tiny green frogs. He even bought Linda a gold necklace with a diamond studded frog on a lily pad pendant.

Only her daughter's room and bathroom are devoid of frogs, almost. Willis did find her frog note pad in her daughter's room with a message on it. ``She wrote directions to somewhere on my frog tablet,'' Willis said with a laugh.

While most grandmas receive dandelions from their grandchildren, Linda receives frog treasures from her 5-year-old grandson. ``Everything he sees, he buys it and brings it to me like a big treasure: 'Nana, look what I have for you,''' Willis said.

Willis, whose philosophy is, You can never have too many, said she's taking her frogs with her when she dies. ``When I die, I want them all thrown in the hole with me ... because that way no one has to fight over them, look at them and decide what to do with them,'' said Willis, jokingly. She's afraid if they are left behind, relatives will say, I'm so sad she died, but what are we going to do with all the crappy frogs?

ANTELOPE VALLEY FAIR SCHEDULE

TODAY

Dwight Yoakam and the Charlie Daniels Band, 7:30 p.m. $25, $20, $15. Hours 4 p.m.-midnight. Children age 15 and under admitted free.

TUESDAY

Ronnie Milsap, 7:30 p.m. Concert admission is free. Hours 4 p.m.-midnight for general public, noon to midnight for senior citizens and handicapped persons. People over 55 and handicapped persons admitted free and receive free limited carnival rides and free lunch.

DAILY

Carnival rides, farm animals, flower exhibits, handicraft display, photo exhibit, gem and mineral display, bungee jumping, fishing demonstration, petting zoo, bicycle stunt show, chain saw sculpture.

THE FACTS

ADMISSION: General admission, $6; children 6 to 15 and seniors 55 and older, $4; children under 6 and active duty military personnel with identification, free. Grandstand event tickets include fair admission.

PARKING: $3.

LOCATION: 155 E. Ave. I, Lancaster.

INFORMATION: [phone] or www.avfair.com.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Linda Willis takes a call on the Kermit phone in her Palmdale home, now overrun by her collection of frog trinkets.

(2 -- color) Part of Willis' collection is this mug of Kermit the Frog, with a Kermit Pez dispenser inside.

(3) Willis, with a 1976 baby Kermit doll, feels an affinity for the Muppet, who first appeared the same year she did: 1956.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer

Box: ANTELOPE VALLEY FAIR SCHEDULE (see text)