I happened to walk into my house via my garage last night and as I punched in the code on the opener, I looked down and there she was, sitting on top of a rabbit statue.
“What is that?” I thought.
A leaf? A chunk of dirt? Random litter?
None of those.
A toad!
Anaxyrus americanus!
A symbol of good luck, good fortune, good health, and prosperity!
Good grief! Where does Toadianna (yes, I’ve named her) live during the day? How did she get here? What does she eat? Where is she getting water? Why did she decide to reveal herself?
So many questions.
I suspect during the day she hides out under the leaves of the nearby leadwort patch, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. Right now, with a daily running of the front garden sprinklers, that’s as cool and moist a place as any in the garden.
Where did she come from? Who knows or cares? She’s here and that’s what matters.
Toadianna eats bugs, so she is smart to sit there on the rabbit statue because the light above probably draws in lots of bugs. Enough for a hungry little toad to eat for dinner, lunch, and breakfast.
Why did she reveal herself to me? Well, that was probably accidental on her part. I don’t usually go in at night via the garage door. I caught her by surprise!
But it was a good surprise for me. I hope it wasn’t a shock to her because I love having toads in the garden.
Welcome, one and all toads, (unless they become so numerous they are like a plague of toads.)
And that’s it for today’s post, or should I say “toad-ay’s post.” Just a little report of finding a toad in my garden.
Thanks for indulging me once again by reading to the end!
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