Almost too well hidden!

  Camouflage is a much needed trait among critters in the wild.  It is necessary especially among the very young.  While just babes, critters have to be able to go unseen to prevent becoming a meal for a larger critter.  It is a way of life which we humans sometimes forget.  Our young are cared for while they are tiny and not left out to fend for themselves.  (It is a good thing it is this way as I know even a lot of adults that would not fare so well if left in the wild. I cannot imagine a wee human being able to fetch food or fend off predators!)  But in the wild, a lot of critters do just that.  Mom and Dad are not around to see to the raising of their offspring. Worse, yet, is the fact that sometimes Mom and Dad become predators to their own young!  This camouflage is a grand thing indeed!  It not only hides critters from predators but also gives them the edge on catching their own prey.  When tiny, every mouthful becomes quite precious so having the ability to blend in with one's environment once again is a necessity.  

  This afternoon, though, that same helpful camouflage almost became a critter's undoing!  I was in the garden checking the progress of the tomato plants.  Not once did I survey the ground before taking a step.  Most of us do not.  Perhaps we should.  Just how many critters are literally underfoot?  I flicked a worm off the tomato plant and suddenly a movement caught my eye.  It was the slightest of movements and I wondered if perhaps I had not seen it at all.  I stared at the ground. Hmmm?  Something was there, I know!  It had to be!  Sure enough at that moment, a tiny toad took another hop.  That thing was no bigger than a minute!  It was surely smaller than a pea!  It was camouflaged well, though, perhaps too well!  I almost squished it flat!  I got down on my hands and knees to examine further and found dozens of tiny toads hopping about the garden!  The Frog Pond obviously has been a busy place!

  The coloration of the tiny toad was so in tune with the dirt that even after I saw it, my eyes would not stay focused.  I took several photographs and then had difficulty seeing the toad in the pictures!  I am glad that the tiny toad is in the garden.  There, it should find lots to eat and should be a huge help to me.  I say "good riddance" to the insects that it eats!