I used to do this in my garden at home. My yard had some scary big toads for the unsuspecting. Here at the condo, they won’t let me create toad-specific space, but I place my pots in a way that gives them a shady, protective space and the HSA has no idea that I’m giving toads safe harbor.
Are toads common in the US? I don’t recall ever seeing one in the Great White North. Maybe our climate isn’t good for them.
Yes! We had loads of them in Ohio, in Virginia, and now in North Carolina. And I know @kayaker has mentioned living in Pennsylvania.
Our property seems to be in a perfect little niche of a microclimate that toads love.
I’ve got a “Winter Frog” (I know, I know, makes no sense… but hear me out).
Some Goddamn frog that lives in the hot, dry desert all year without making an appearance. Then, winter comes along, and he’ll come out from wherever he dwells and starts croaking. But this is really winter. Cold as Fuck out here in the desert. And still dry as a PopCorn Fart. It is the craziest thing. I actually got a picture of him a few years ago. I still don’t believe it. It defies all logic. I drink, but not that much.
It isn’t, particularly. Like most colder countries Canada overall is pretty depauperate when it comes herpetofauna - around ~90+ species vs. maybe ~460-odd in the continental U. S. (the exact number is controversial as salamander species complexes in particular are always in flux). But you are not entirely bereft. You certainly don’t want to sleep on the patriotic Canadian toad 
.
That’s a great idea!
When I let the dogs out for the last time at night, I always have to watch, because once in a while they come upon a toad. The boxer is very interested. I don’t want him to kill it so I run outside and move the toad to the other side of the fence so they can’t get at it.
We use “LEAVE IT” as a command when teaching our dogs to not interact with things. It works well and has saved the day a few times. Always carry treats. Pair “LEAVE IT” with a reward when the dog backs off.
For when it is too late for leave it, “DROP” is good.
Something new that I haven’t seen - but others on my allotment have: mink, in the stream that runs just by us.
I’ve got mixed feelings about this. Yeah, it would definitely be an interesting spot; but basically they’re an invasive non-native escapee species, and damaging to the ecosystem. So I’m (a) unhappy and (b) anxious to spot them.
On a more amusing note, there was some fearful fox screeching up and down the road last night, just before feeding time. (The old lady next door feeds them; and yes, foxes are perfectly capable of estimating the time.) It was so loud that I stepped out of the front door to check out what was happening. At which point one of our fox cubs snuck out of the garden opposite, where it had been hiding; walked across the road; padded up our drive until it was about five meters away; and took a long look at me. Then, having figured out that I wasn’t the one with the food, it padded off into the dark again.
j
https://i.ibb.co/RvGB7SL/2-CFE29-B3-C11-F-40-A7-95-DA-6807828-EC3-FA.jpg
Bald faced hornets nest, active, about 8 weeks growth. Those bugs care nothing about me standing right next to it but I don’t linger.
We use the same words. But some things are just too tempting!
I use those words for my cats, it works too! Leave it! mostly. No way they’ll drop a mouse on command.
On our hike yesterday, my dog and I flushed an absolutely huge barred owl that scared the crap out of both of us.
Aw that’s too bad, the owl may have lost out on a meal.
Recent rains have brought out dormant Pink Sundews (Drosera capillaris). The flower stalk is very long to prevent the carnivore from eating it’s pollinators:
The rain has washed the bright globes off the tentacle tips.
These things are really tiny:
On my morning walk I see that the globes are all restored and the plant is enjoying it’s breakfast:
That thing looks so bizarre.
Droseras are bizarre. The tentacles bend to grasp their prey. You can see that on the upper and right side of the spider or whatever it is:
Not bad for a creature without a central nervous system.
I just saw a red shoulder hawk off my deck.
I had no idea they were so small! What a wee, strange, lovely little predator.
My contribution: a skunk in my backyard! I haven’t seen one in years. We regarded each other a moment, then Pepe Le Pew shimmied under the fence to go forth upon unknowable skunk errands.
