The evening was warm and definitely not bug free. Black flies made their debut in full force, but I stubbornly stayed outside, determined to spend a daily half hour cleaning out the flower beds. Pulling up a long rooted grass stem—one that did not belong in my garden—I tried not to swat at the thick cloud of black flies circling my head.
A recent rain had rendered the soil soft, so weeding was easy. This year, in addition to planting potatoes, carrots, onions and sugar snap peas, I promised myself that by the end of 2016, the flower beds would be weed free.
The vegetable garden is in pretty good shape thanks to Dick, who wields a mean hoe, but the flower beds are another story. I’ve let my perennials fend for themselves for the past four years, and the result is a thick grass thatch taking over the flowers.
Throwing the grass stem into a bucket, I spotted another grass clump, grabbed it and pulled hard. Nothing. I pulled again. Whoops…the ground under the clump moved. My hand stopped in mid-air as I realized something in the dirt was alive.
Taking a closer look, I found myself peering into two heavy lidded eyes. A toad! I had unearthed the home of a very large brown toad, who looked exactly like a dirt clod. It was a healthy toad. I quickly replaced the grass chunk and let the creature be.
As I stepped back, a little toad sped past my feet. Moving like lightning it disappeared into a day lily cluster. That clinched it. I’d have to suspend my weeding project in the east end of my garden. Toads are some of my favorite people. They eat insects and anything that devours pests is on the top of my list. Ruining a toad’s front yard just wasn’t on my agenda. Instead, I moved to another part of the garden, deciding to leave a “toad safety” zone in my garden.
That night I ordered a “toad house” (Amazon), so in addition to my weeding mission, my new summer activity this summer will be the upkeep of “toad safety” zones.
Good thing too. Yesterday, while mowing the lawn, Dick spotted three tiny toads running for their lives to the cover of rhubarb leaves.
I’ll have to order a few more toad houses.
Leave a Reply