Ms. Toady and the Old King

  One good thing that has come from my being confined to the outdoor space of the Small Gardens.  It has made me aware of all the special things that are often hidden in plain sight.  In just the past four weeks of my realm being greatly diminished from the entire eight acres to a mere garden plot, I have discovered many interesting things.  Perhaps it is more the idea that I am appreciating things that I overlooked.  Small things are now stupendous.  There is not a day that goes by that I am not spellbound by an otherwise "normal" thing.

  Today, I found a toad.  While that may not seem to be earthshaking to others, the toad kept me fully entertained for nigh on a half hour.  Some may find that a tad ridiculous but, since my time is plentiful, the half hour was well spent.  I pondered the life of a toad...this toad...Ms. Toady.  The critter lives in the roots of an old oak tree that stands just outside the pergola that surrounds the french doors.  The tree is dying so many of its large roots are hollow.  In fact, the entire tree is hollow which makes for perfect dwelling places for so many critters.  The toad shares its root "cave" with a lovely old skink.  The skink was, at one time, the "King Skink" but he has been ousted by an upstart.  So, the toad very kindly let the Old King share her abode.  The two get along divinely and seem to have a great working partnership.  The toad, being younger, ventures further to hunt for prey allowing the Old King to stay near the doorway to their root home.  Also, the toad is active at night and wishes to settle in for rest during the heat of the day.  The skink is diurnal so vacates the root except when an escape is necessary.  It seems to be a win/win situation for the pair.

  Early this morning, I sat on the little foot bridge crossing the Pebble Creek.  The creek empties into the Puddle Pond with a delightful sound of water dripping over the ledge.  As I sat there enjoying life, I noticed the toad hippity-hopping from the Pebble Creek.  She was heading back to the root home for the day.  I thought of how her night had been busy catching the night bugs..many of which linger around the gardens.  Her belly was fat so pickings must have been good.  It gave me a sense of satisfaction knowing that the little toad was well fed and had a cool place to spend the heat of the day.  She and the Old King have an unusual friendship but it works.  I wish them both well.

Perfect Timing!

 Occasionally, things happen that just make a day a bit brighter.  Not that the day started dismally but I have to admit that visiting the Frog Pond seemed to make it all the more happy.  The False Indigo Bush has been dropping petals into the water for the past few days making the pond quite unsightly.  I decided to "skim" the top of the pond with a spray of water from the hose to cleanse it a bit.  The bits and pieces went scooting to the far side and up on the edge of the pond making the whole thing appear a good bit cleaner.  A few pieces of drift wood seemed to be hindering my efforts so I cautiously moved them aside.  I say cautiously since a snake might just be using the wood as a hiding place and I sure did not want to find one unawares.  No snake was found but a small frog made a mad dash across the pond to the hollow stump. Hmmm...this was different.  The small Bronze Frogs never even move out of my way any more.  This must be a new frog!

  I eased my way back around the other side of the pond to check the stump.  Sure enough, the froggy had climbed into the "room" to hide. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that the room was already inhabited!  A much larger Bull Frog was using the stump as a shade from the bright sun.  New Frog never hesitated to climb aboard...and atop.  The little frog seemed oblivious to the fact that his perch was another frog and the Bullfrog seemed equally oblivious that he was being used as a chair.  

  The pair were just too cute and the moment pleaded for a photographic session!  It is times like this that I am glad that I tote my camera with me at all times!  Neither frog seemed to mind that I spent the next twenty minutes getting the "perfect shot".  They obliged by sitting stone-still and let me have my fun.  I clambered about in the wisteria and nandina bushes to get numerous photographs of the cute pair as I will probably never see this happen again.  Nice froggies....I appreciate you posing for pictures on this most lovely day!!