Tag: gulf coast toad

I Did It

What did I do? I survived an overwhelming work week without losing my temper at anyone. I’m sure glad this week was only four work days!

Flying away like these cattle egrets was very tempting!

The minute I stopped answering questions along with my equally frazzled colleague, I went to dinner with Lee and our neighbor, which got me out of the house and laughing at least a bit! It reminded me of how much I miss Sara, up there farming her heart out in Wisconsin. Her husband is about done emptying their house here out. Sniff.

This ground cherry blossom brings some cheer! They’re always turned down, so it’s fun to turn them over.

I’m impressed with my dedication to my equine pursuits, because when I got home, I went straight to horse world, fed everyone and got all Apache’s prescribed cantering and other ground work done before it was dark. Bonus: it was a little cooler by 7:30 pm.

I attempted to water my sad geranium but when it moved I realized I was watering the porch toad (Penney’s friend). It’s a Gulf Coast toad.

So, I did it. Got all my training and documentation revision done, was social, enjoyed horses, and even made my daily exercise goals. Woo-ee. I deserved the blissful hour I spent finishing August on my temperature blanket and watching the Captain Picard show.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll be more interesting!

Goldie and the Gulf Coast Toad

Nearly all the toads you see in this area are Gulf Coast Toads. We always have a couple hanging around the house. You never know where one will be lurking, as we found out today.

A lurking toad.

Once again, a big downpour happened while the driveway was getting worked on. I was on the porch with the dogs, watching the rain.

Testing the new drain arrangement.

So, there are a couple of places where Lee’s old drainage system broke, and that’s where water gushes out when it rains hard. Today, there was a second gusher. I didn’t recall that happening before. It was like something was blocking the first one. Until I heard a POP.

What’s that?

A dazed toad spurted out of the hole. That was the blockage! I laughed my head off, so I only got this blurry image before it hopped away.

Where am I?

Once the toad hopped, Goldie spotted it. She’d never seen such a thing!

What’s that?

I watched as she circled the toad. Every time it moved, she jumped back, often nearly knocking me over. At one point she got scared by and went way across the new path to circle from a distance. She just didn’t know what to think of that toad!

I was scared!

I knew enough not to let her lick it, but a couple of times she got pretty close.

That thing keeps jumping!

It was a lot of fun watching Goldie learn. I think she got the idea not to bite or play with them. I wish I’d managed to teach Vlassic that before he got a mouthful of toad secretion and started foaming.