Toad Week at Pillywiggins Garden

Apparently, it's Toad Week at Pillywiggins Garden. It started on Sunday as all weeks do. We decided to take the scenic route home down Toad Lake Road. It was a beautiful day & we stopped to enjoy the view.

On Tuesday Jason found a teeny-tiny toad in our garden. We've been watching what we think is the same toad for several years now and had affectionately named him Mr. Toady. Jason found the baby toad in one of Mr. Toady's favorite hangouts. Hmmm. Could it be Mr. Toady is a Mrs.?

Baby Toady

Mr. or Mrs. Toady?

Yes, I do believe it's so. Why? Because today Jason found another toad in our garden and this one was HUGE - as big as Jason's hand! It seems we have the entire Toad Family living in our gardens. Maybe we should rename them Small, Medium & Large?

We love sharing our gardens with toads. They eat insects, grubs and the slugs that attack our hosta. We're also happy to share our gardens with tree frogs. Several years ago we found a baby tree frog hiding in the hydrangea next to our door. Each year since we've spotted a tree frog hanging out under our porch light which sits just above the same hydrangea. We think it's a Gray Tree Frog or possibly a Cope's Gray Tree Frog. It's hard to tell because they share much of the same territory and are almost indistinguishable in appearance.

Did you know...

• The average lifespan of the American Toad is 10 to 12 years.
• The average lifespan of Gray Tree Frogs is 7 to 9 years.
• The average lifespan of the Cope's Gray Tree Frog is 2-1/2 to 7 years.
• One frog can eat over 100 insects a night!

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I wonder what we'll find next? Anything's possible in Pillywiggins Garden!
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