Is Toad Back??!

I spotted a toad in the grotto today.  Is he Toad?  Or just a toad?  He was hanging out in the same place that big Toad liked to be.  He seemed a bit smaller, so I didn't think it was him.

Hmmm, that is one big Toad butt.  Maybe it IS Toad!
I really hope it is. I didn't try to pet him. I did harass him quite a bit getting the camera right up into the cave with him.  He didn't flinch, so maybe it is!  Sure hope so.  I really missed him.
 


 Ha! Check out little frog below.  He took cover under this leaf all day.  Either he or she is hiding or decided that a little more cover is necessary for these hot Texas days.  Little frog was plenty annoyed when I crawled down to get the camera into the cave to take toad pics. 
 

Pissy Frog

This morning I saw a beautiful Rio Grande Leopard Frog on the side of the pond.  When I came out of the house, he scrambled to get into the pond and hide from me.  Yeah, whatever.

The other day, I caught a particularly large scorpion on the side of the house.  Bugger.  I hate these things.  I was going to keep his dead carcass in a jar so when (if?) I ever moved back to California I could have a little reminder of Texas.  They are pretty cool-looking.  Looking at the jar, I decided on a better use. Yum.

Bon Appetit. 

As I was placing this little morsel on the rock, I stepped into the garden and a furious hopping ensued all around my feet! That lovely little Leopard frog from this morning leapt onto a rock and into the pond.  I guess I almost stepped on him.  So, I figured he'd be at the bottom of the pond for awhile.  

Uh, no.  While I didn't exactly get yelled at, if my mom ever looked at me this way, I knew I was in big trouble. 

Yeah, that is one pissed off frog.  He just sat and glared at me. 






Close up?












OK, bigger close up of a very pissed off Rio Grande Leopard Frog.  Sorry, dude.  I will leave you to your scorpion in peace.  Oh, by the way, I left a few June bugs for you, too.

Sinking Feeling....

When I was walking the dogs last night, I found a flattened toad on the road in front of the house.  I hope it wasn't "our" Toad.  I haven't seen him since the "Toad Party".  There was another flat toad a bit down the road.  Sigh.  It's not like we live on a busy street - it's a cul de sac.

Come back, big guy.  Let me know you are ok. 

I actually picture the toads leaving the party all drunk and stupid, getting on the road and getting into these accidents...  From the toad remains, that would look like the timeline.  Dangit, didn't your mom teach you that if you party too late, stay off the road!

After the Toad Party

Phew.  That was a wild party last night.  Today, no scene from The Hangover, froggie style, thank goodness.  All was quiet.  Little Leopard Frog came back and spent the day.  I wonder if he understood that quite a lot of adult debauchery happened here last night? Silly toads! I wonder if they discuss things?  They seem to get along ok, but I do notice that lately, there seem to be either frogs or toads in the pond, rarely both. Interesting.

Wanna see "the grotto"?  This is where they can go to get a little privacy.

Today The Toads Came...

Not much happening in the pond during the day.  A little toad hid in a tight spot between the wall of the pond and a rock and watched me watching him in the afternoon. Little did I know that he was just early for the evening's festivities.

At about 10 pm, I decided to check one more time.  YIKES!  Party time!  Not just a party but a TOAD party! I counted 5 at least. They were swimming, jumping and diving.  Two were locked in a passionate embrace making sweet tadpole makin' love. They did not like my flashlight one bit and started calling out - chirping and singing.   Actually, I thought I heard: "hey lady, leave us alone!"  Yeah, I can take a hint. I am way too old for this crazy party.  I turned off the porch light. No sign of little frog.I guess the toads told him he was too little for this kind of fun.  Hope he's ok; haven't seen him in a couple of days.

About This Frog Blog

Last year, (June, 2010), I decided that I needed to create a comfortable place for the many frogs that seemed to like to hang out around our house in way Southwest Austin, Texas. The creeks around here are only seasonal so I worried about them. So, I dug a hole in the garden, lined it with some pond lining and added rocks, some water poppies and some other plants to create shade and hiding places. There are ever-changing caves and escape routes made from rocks and things as I keep trying to think of ways to make this frog and goldfish habitat interesting and inviting.

This pond is also home to Large Marge and her friend George (George has a large and beautiful tail, so I named him after George Cloony). They were "feeder" goldfish I rescued from the local pet store. Marge is just huge and greedy and keeps getting bigger and bigger - love her! I enjoy sitting on the front steps and discussing things with the Marge and George and whatever frog or toad happens to be hanging out at the time. Marge eats fish flakes out of my hands. Marge would probably eat fish flakes from a snake's jaws.

The first frog residents of the pond were all Rio Grande Leopard Frogs. They were so happy, they laid eggs during the summer! No tadpoles, though. I think snakes ate the eggs. Or the tadpoles.

Over the course of the last year, through trial and error, I made the following changes:

1. Drained the pond and dug it about 8 inches deeper so that it would not get too hot in the summer;
2. Added plants of different heights, to create shade and interest;
3. Added a big net on top so the green herons would stop fishing in the pond. RIP to my two smallest goldfish;
4. Sprayed a non-toxic peppermint based oil around the perimeter to keep out all the garden snakes that started hanging out. It worked!

The latest residents have been a Blanchard's cricket frog, a tiny tree frog that seemed very happy hanging out for a few weeks, then mysteriously disappeared. (This was pre-net and I blame the green herons.)

Cute, huh?

After the net went up, in May, 2011, the next steady residents have been a teeny little leopard frog, just a yearling, and a GIANT toad. I was a little worried about the little frog because he disappeared for a week after I was gone for a week visiting friends in California. I checked for him every day, but no little frog. Today, June 21, 2011, he showed up again! He stuck his head out and blinked at me as I said hello. Sure glad he didn't turn out to be snake food.

 This is Mr. Toad (or Ms. Toad).  Toad lives here full-time just about and is huge.  He lets me reach in and pet him.  The other night, a neighbor and I were sitting talking and he jumped up on a rock and joined the discussion for a bit, then proceeded to hop away from us, taking very deliberate hops, right in the middle of the walkway with no attempt whatsoever to hide.  We have to be careful at night, because he is often hunting around the back door.  Good toad! Eat those scorpions!