Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: Portraits of a Helpful Toad

Toad, Arizona garden
Toad, Arizona garden
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 112 F (44 C)/Low: 81 F (27 C)

10 comments:

  1. υπεροχο!!!!!!!! μια …ψυχη!!!!!!!!
    ευχομαι μια ομορφη πεμπτη!!!!!
    αγγελικη

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These became portraits - he was charming... in his way ;-) Have a lovely day, dear Aggeliki!!

      Delete
  2. Cette photo est magique. J'imagine que pour capturer cette image, il faut de la patience.
    Belle découverte....belle journée

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, dear Jocelyne! To tell the truth, he was happily catching insects while I took the pictures - he had no wish to leave... ;-) Wishing you a wonderful day!

      Delete
  3. A toad! How wonderful! I've never seen either a frog or a toad in either my current garden or my last one. Yours looks happy too - or at least as happy as any toad ever looks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been surprised at how many toads we have here, Kris. Our property is in the Hassayampa drainage area - a large area of washes and occasional summer flooding - so maybe we have more of these sorts of animals than would be typical elsewhere in the region. At any rate, they do their part in pest control in the garden! I think he was quite pleased. He had dug a shallow hole in the cooler, moister soil beside my Russelia and was apparently catching bugs while I photographed...

      Delete
  4. It's always such great complement for your garden when the wildlife moves in. How do those poor things cope in the desert heat...44C...wow!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been very pleased with how soon the wildlife has warmed up to our presence here, Matt! I think they see us as bringing in all sorts of wonderful innovations: plants, water hoses, soft mulch, horse feed, bug-attracting lights at night, etc. The desert toads have their own adaptations for the climate. I understand that they can mature from egg to adult very quickly - a week or so, if my memory is correct. Also, when aestivating, they form what is essentially a hard shell to reduce moisture loss. This chap doesn't seem to be finding it necessary to aestivate at the moment though ;-)

      Delete
  5. Glad you do, Hollis! I wasn't sure how my toad pictures would go over ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the new occupant of your garden, soon you will have to create a section on your blog devoted to wildlife ;)
    Are animals of rare beauty, natural insecticides garden ...
    Good week Amy!!

    ReplyDelete