Things are Hopping Around Here

(Excuse the grubby fingers, this toad was brought to you by a hard working man)

And there is some discussion about just what the hopping things in question are. I never knew that we had Fowler's Toads around here, but Alan insists that some of the little guys that we are finding everywhere are not plain old American toads. (I am not going to argue with him. He is the college fisheries and wildlife student and I am just his mom.) They DO seem to have the diagnotic extra lumps in their wartiness. Whatever they are, and I suspect some of each of our local common toads, they are everywhere. You have to watch where you step in the driveway, as they blend in amazingly well and are hopping all over the place out there. I know some toad whoopee was being made in the heifer watering trough all spring, because I could hear them singing all night and half the day. I suspect there may have been some happening in the garden pond too, although I never caught them in the act and they are a pretty shameless lot.

The little ones seem to have an extra measure of cute that is irresistible. I found one when I was out feeding my dog Nick that was small enough to sit comfortably on my thumbnail with room to spare. I put it in the quart cottage cheese container I take the dog food out in (after feeding the latter to Nick of course). Then I took the container in to Becky and said, "Look, I have one little kibble left."

She glanced into the container, did a double take and began to carry on in utter delight. She is as tickled as I am by tiny toads. After a careful examination baby toadlet was carried out to the edge of the pond, where he was much safer than the center of the driveway. Later Alan brought a big one in to compare to the Fowler's on the Internet.....hmmm, spots here, spots there, I think I may, I think I might....be right about this toady tonight.

You see, I have raised my daughters and son right. They love herptiles like outdoor folks should. I am delighted by all these toads and by a baby green frog Alan found on the bridge. By the myriad garter snakes we find. Red backed salamanders (which I have known as plethodon cinereus so long that I have to think to come up with their English name). Milk snakes....although we haven't seen many of those this year yet. All the hoppy, slithery, scaled and slippery amphibians and reptiles that hang around us. I guess we are lucky that most of our local critters are non-poisonous and in the case of the toad, downright neighborly. It makes enjoying them so much fun.