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.

The Old King

  For the past few mornings, there has been a visitor in the gardens.  A male skink has been trying to set his dominance over the other male skinks that live in the area.  This newcomer has decided that he should be ruler.  The upstart is boisterous, arrogant and is a big showoff.  Two mornings ago, this rapscallion decided to physically attack the older ruler of "Skinkland".  Mark witnessed the ambush and called my attention to it.  The newcomer was trying to overpower the older, weaker skink and was doing a pretty good job of it.  In fact, the younger, stronger skink had a "death grip" on the head of the old King.  It was not a pretty sight but I grabbed the camera to see if I could document this moment in the "wild".  Needless to say, when I stuck the camera close to the lizard fight, it gave the old lizard the opportunity it needed to cut loose and escape.  Our old ruler ran under the house, all the while, being chased by the rogue.  I figured the melee was over and soon forgot about the skinks.

  This morning, however, I noticed that the Old King had taken refuge in the hollow trunk of an oak tree near the house.  He had come out of a small fissure in a tree root and was trying to soak up a bit of sunshine.  The poor fellow looked a mite worse for wear after the battle.  He appeared weakened and almost saddened.  I suppose he had to relinquish his crown to the young whippersnapper and that did not set well.  His plight touched me as I could commiserate with the fact of getting old.  Life is sometimes not fair to lizard kings nor old ladies.  

  The Old King and I sat in quiet respectfulness for a good while.  Neither of us made the attempt to try to understand why things happen but we just shared a bit of peace.  After a bit, I reassured the Old King that he was still needed and offered him friendship.  I hope he has complete peace in his new dwelling spot.  I am not sure the New King will rule nearly so fairly as the Old King had.  The garden spot is changing.