Last night we were out delivering some Christmas treats to some of our neighbors, as we do every year. Kind of a family tradition, really. We (by we I mean my wife) makes candy and then we plate it up and take it around. We always enjoy it, and it is a great time to get to know our neighbors better.
As we were heading up to one of the doors, the girls started getting really excited, and saying “there’s a toad, there’s a toad!” I didn’t think much about it, I was more concerned about getting done with the task. Well, true to form, Julia bent down and picked up a toad, and held on like it was her best friend. She was super excited, and wanted to keep it. So, despite it peeing on her, she held on to it through another delivery, and the whole time we were looking for something to put it in.
We kind of made a makeshift container for it out of a plastic tote and a cookie rack. We found a couple of small rocks and a small log for it, and gave it some water. It seemed content to hang out under the rocks for a bit.
The girls named it Bumpy, because of the bumps all over it. It looks like an American Toad, and looks like a juvenile. We have several in the area, and so I’m not too worried about it endangering the eco system if this one suddenly moves inside. I was really surprised to see it out- it is warming up a lot this week, even raining, and most of the snow that fell a few weeks ago is gone now. But I would have thought it was still too cold for a toad to be hopping around outside.
Anyway, Bumpy is now in the house, has himself a little place to chill, and three adoring fans. I guess we will see how long he lasts…
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