Arrival of the Toads

  To me, there is nothing better than spying a couple of toads in the gardens.  I try to leave their "dens" (small dugout cubbies) so the critters feel at ease and will continue to reside amongst the vegetable plants and flowers.  Their voracious appetites for bugs works wonders in protecting the plants.  Not only will toads munch down insects, they will quickly down slugs and snails which makes me (and the plants) all the happier.  So, the toads stay...along with frogs, lizards and non-venomous snakes.  All of these are a true gardener's friends.

  On either side of the house, there is a small pond.  One, I named the "Frog Pond" for obvious reasons.  Frogs and toads love this safe place to gather, mate and lay eggs.  It is not uncommon to find thousands of tadpoles hiding under the lily pads and water hyacinths.  The other pond is much smaller so is named "Puddle Pond".  Puddle Pond is merely a catch pool for runoff from the house eaves.  I concreted a small "stream" alongside the length of the house and then down the hillside just a wee bit.  This small pond also has become a haven for treefrogs and toads. Once again, the hyacinths provide a thick protection from predators so the frogs and toads feel safe.  Both ponds are within the gardens so my critter friends do not have far to go to find their dinner.

  This is the time of year for those billion or so tadpoles to start morphing into their adult selves and leave the safety of their watery homes.  One has to be careful when wandering the gardens simply to avoid stepping on these tiny critters.  They are no bigger than a pea and, since the toads are dark in color, hard to see when in mulch.  Thankfully, they are a bit "squishable" and can pull themselves back together if I make a misstep.  

  One such tiny toad was making his exit from the Puddle Pond when I was out and about.  The tiny critter hurriedly hippity-hopped up the concrete "stream" to the chive row where it quickly disappeared under the leaf mulch.  The sighting caused me to smile as I whispered out well-wishes to the wee one.  Now, hopefully, it will avoid the ribbon snake that lives about ten feet further down that stream and the black racer that lives under the plant arbor just to the outside of the chive row.  Be safe, Little One!  You have a big chore ahead of you keeping my garden free from pests!

The Toad and the Toxic Grasshopper

   Early this morning after my hike to the pier, I wandered through the Small Gardens making mental notes as to what needed to be done.  Gardening is one of those things without an end.  To be honest, it has to be a labor of love or you might as well have rocks strewn about the place.  I am not that way.  I prefer to have natural growth and not some manicured lawn and bare garden beds.  The Small Gardens became a refuge and I, in return, tend to the place.  It was on the meanderings through the pathways that I came across a standoff!

  At one point where a pathway splits, I found a toad and a grasshopper eyeing each other.  Normally, the toad would have made short work of the grasshopper but, this time, the toad was hesitant.  I do not blame it.  Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are toxic.  Somehow, the the toad knew this and although it was hungry, it was not hungry enough to down something that may make its belly hurt.  

  Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers have very few predators out to get them. To my knowledge, only the Loggerhead Shrike will eat them and that is after it lets them bake a while in the sun.  The shrike has a habit of impaling its prey on a twig, barbed wire or thorn for a while before eating it.  The toad had no way of doing this so it just avoided the grasshopper and hopped off into the garden to find a better meal.

Toad Hole Hotel

   Each morning, my hike takes me down the board path to the water's edge.  From there, I can either go to the pier or hike around to back part of the property following the marsh line.  It is on that board path that I have recently had to watch my step.  I came nigh on stepping on one of my critter friends!

  About halfway down the path, just past the bottle tree, a small toad has burrowed out a nice home under one of the planks.  The little toad, of course, is nocturnal and is making its way back to is home when I am starting my sunrise hike.  For the past week, I have had to be careful not to step on the sweet critter.  When I first found it, the toad was frightened and darted back into is nook but each day, I would stop to visit and, now, it is much more at ease.  

  This afternoon, I made one last trip to the pier and had a happy surprise.  As I neared the Toad Hole, my little friend came crawling out to greet me.  Sweet!!  If only people could be as kind as critters, this old world would be a far better place.  

Almost Too Late!

  Well, I was almost too late!  Cleaning the Frog Pond is always something I try to do in the early spring.  Most of the time, the chore is done while it is still quite chilly even though I get rather wet.  Mucking around in knee deep water is a must if the water hyacinths are to be thinned.  Those things will clog up a pond rather quickly so each year, I pull out all but about a dozen or so.  That means two hundred make their way to the compost bin.  Hyacinths make excellent fertilizer so they do not go to waste.  That cleaning, however, is quite the undertaking and this spring, it has been delayed several times.  Last night, hundreds of toads and frogs could be heard raising their voices in their nightly serenade and love was being shared in the back yard.  The cacophony gave me a bit of a sinking feeling.  I was too late.

  This morning as soon as other chores were completed, it was time to get down and dirty with the pond.  The task was made even more difficult due to the fact that several clusters of toad eggs were already to be found woven in the roots of the water lilies.  This made it difficult to get the water hyacinths free and clear.  Several times, a decision had to be made.  Either a few eggs had to be sacrificed or masses of water plants had to stay. I did the best I could to save each strand.

  There was clearly no draining the entire pond as this would have damaged the eggs already there.  Half of the water was drained while the pond was refilling.  Hopefully, this did not disturb the eggs and the future toads and frogs will be happy with their somewhat cleaner abode.  I, on the other hand, appreciated the warm, sunny day as I was just about soaked to the skin with yucky pond water!  Oh, the things I do for the critters around this place!

Private Pond!

   When is a toad not a toad?  Answer...when it is a frog.  That's right.  As crazy as it may seem, while all toads are frogs, not all frogs are toads. Make sense?  Nope?  Good.  Because it does not to me either. This evening's focus is on the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad...which happens to be a frog and NOT a toad.

  I was sitting in the rocking chair listening to evening fall around me when I heard a strange sound.  (Yes, you really can "hear" evening on the Bayou just like you can hear daybreak. The two sound totally different.)  Like I said, I heard an unusual sound.  Something was calling just to my right.  There was a small deck there with a few potted plants, a bench and a few knickknacks.  Not a one of those could be making that high-pitched "waaaaa!"  There was just enough light left in the day for me to go on a critter search!   It only took a few moments before I realized that the sound was coming from a large pan that held rainwater.  I had put a some of the flowers in the pan to allow them to soak up the life-giving water and, obviously, this tiny critter with the big mouth had decided it was home.  While the Toad Pond is on the other side of the house,swimming around in the pan was an Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  The little guy had his own personal-sized pond and we all know what that call was.  Yep, this little guy was letting his ladylove know that he found a suitable puddle for their nursery.  He just needed her to realize that he was the right frog for the job of daddyhood.

  One weird thing about these frogs is that while they have an ear-piercing call, they make that sound while almost completely submerged.  Only their little snouts will be above water.  Now a good thing about my little toad frog (heehee That finally fits!)  Ants and termites are the preferred diet of the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  This little froggy has suddenly become a favorite of mine.  He can eat all of the ants and termites he can find.  Carry on with your...ummm...business, Little Toad Frog.  Find that wifey!  We need lots of little toad froggies!  Lots of them!

Fickle Mother Nature!

  Our spurt of springlike weather has taken a turn toward winter again.  Not that it can compare to the weather of our neighbors to the north but this is a tad worrisome.  A freeze just might damage the citrus blossoms enough to make them not set the fruit.  Not to mention the peach trees, pear trees and plum trees that are in full bloom.  A late freeze is rough on the gardens.  At least, I am late in getting the tomatoes and such set in the garden boxes.  There are no worries there.  

  However, while meandering in the gardens this morning before the rain chased me inside, I came across one sleepy, little fellow who had better take heed of the warnings.  It is going to be a tad chilly for the little toad to be out and about tonight!  This morning, the little one had ventured out from its cozy bed beneath the herb boxes.  It was enjoying a bit of fresh air and the fleeting sunshine.  Within the hour, though, clouds darkened and the rains came.  

  With the coming chill, I thought about that little toad and all of my critter friends that normally hide away during the cold.  With our thermometers jumping from heat waves to cold spells, you have to wonder just how confusing it must be.  Along with the emerging toads, lots of the birds have already had a first nest of eggs hatching.  Those little ones with no feathers better hide under Mama for warmth for the next few nights and I better get on the ball and haul the plants back into the greenhouse!  Mother Nature always has a few surprises up her sleeve.

Well Hidden in Plain Sight

  Living on the Bayou, I have learned one thing.  If nothing else, I have learned to watch where I step.  While it is not often that I find a snake on my walks, occasionally I will cross paths with one.  We will both hesitate long enough to give each other the "once over", as my grandmother used to say.  After making sure neither of us has plans of harming the other, we go on our merry ways.  It is a rare occasion that I will kill a snake or any critter, for that matter.

  Recently, another critter and I shared the same path.  This one was so well camouflaged that I almost missed it.  A small toad was in an area that is filled with gravel to catch the runoff from the rooftop.  The glorifed drain runoff fills with leaves and needs to be cleaned to work properly.  With all of the rains that  have been pelting the Bayou, this chore could not be postponed.  So I tackled it.  Armed with a rake and little else, I started clearing the debris from the long ditch.  Had the toad not hopped, I would have never noticed it.  The critter blended so well with its surroundings, when I photographed it, I still had trouble finding it!  

  Check the photograph!  I promise, there is a toad in there!  This was my happy find for the day.  Yep, toad frogs and snakes do, indeed, make me happy.  I am just glad that a snake did not find my little toad friend!  Maybe his camouflage works!