More Toads Please

Yesterday, while weeding in my garden I saw the biggest toad ever!

Before I get to that I'd just like to comment on the weather which, this May, has been cooperating fairly well. There was some crazy thunderstorms earlier on in the month (one spat out golf ball sized hail in nearby towns). All in all though, there has been just enough precipitation and sunshine to create that happy mix that most gardeners crave.

A harvest of lettuce thinnings and spinach for dinner.

Sun... moisture... yeah, everything is growing quickly now. Its a struggle to stay caught up with thinning the seedlings and weeding beds to get them prepped for stuff I should be planting... now.

Not only are the veggies growing up, but the weeds are too. I've been weeding like a madwoman. My method of weeding has evolved to be mostly by hand. Hand weeding means that your plucking up individual weeds by hand without the use of tools. Sounds kinda archaic right? (remember I said madwoman) I've realized that the weeds that get plucked up by hand can usually take some of the roots with it. Grass, dandelions, dock, burdock... just to name a few of the contenders I face daily in the garden. If your just hacking off the leafy top but not pulling out at least some of the root system... these punks will just keep coming back.

Its been very pleasant to see, while weeding like a madwoman, lots of earthworms (I swear any weed I pull up unveils at least one earthworm) and tiny little toads. The little one pictured above is a typical toad I see in the garden. I'll notice two or three usually, so its not that things are crawling with hopping with toads. The frequency that I see them is enough to feel lucky.

Then. Yesterday. While weeding. When it moved... I yelled with surprise.

I saw with my very own eyes....

The BIGGEST TOAD EVER.

Whoa mama! Now I feel lucky!

Now I also feel like I don't know enough about toads all of the sudden. Such as, how old can a toad live? How old is this toad? Is there a way to tell if its male or female? How far do toads travel? Could this be one that I found hiding in a dugout by my beets last year? How do I encourage more toad friends to hang out with my vegetables?

And just to drive home the whole hand weeding thing (so I don't seem like a masochist)... Imagine I was weeding by whacking around with a tool instead of by hand. I could have whacked my new friend here. This big guy (or girl) would have have been a goner! It was a bit slow... or should I say sluggish from eating so many slugs I hope.