Windowsill Toad gets her name from the following. Of an evening she climbs up about six of these steps to get to our kitchen window. There the light streams out and attracts insects. And she catches the insects.
She's big, but small compared to the steps. And toads don't jump. They do an exaggerated four legged crawl, Gollum-like.
I sometimes wonder if she is daunted by her task, which feels about as tough as salmon leaping upstream. If she is, she never shows it. You may feel a bit skeptical, but I kid you not, she is a character.
(If you haven't already done so, click the pic and you will be rewarded with a better view of her kindly face).
21 comments:
That's a great photo and, yes, it's worth clicking on it to enlarge it.
She's rather lovely! And anything that catches irritating flies is an asset in my opinion.
(By the way the word verification on this is: sucklepo. Lovely)
i tell you. there is one clever robot running the word verification situation. i mean its just christened your toad..Trianda . oh darling just fetch Trianda from the verandah will you? croak croak.
um. what i meant to say was BEAUTIFUL STEPS!!! really. xx j
dumdad - yes, she is nice. One of a collection in fact. There is also "Variagated Toad" and "Gollem Toad", so like the Rings character is he.
mud - indeed, worth their weight in gold, as are our many bats.
janelle - fantastic, Trianda. Consider her christened. And agree with you about the steps. Best part of 800 years old believe it or not! Though that's the building as a whole; parts of it have no doubt been renovated over the centuries.
If you kissed her, would she turn into a princess?
actually nb, she was a princess, then I kissed her.
I do like a toad. But they make such a racket at night! When we're in France I can't sleep for all the chirruping, croaking and squeaking from our assorted animal friends...
Windowsill Toad should meet Pot Plant Frog! Very cute and I love looking at pics of your place its so damn old! Although sadly, we don't care for toads over here, particularly the Cane variety! Have a great weekend. I'm off home from work . .ta da! TGIF!
What a handsome creature your Trianda is.
claire - I have known this to happen, but not around here. But then I do sleep behind stone walls that are 1.4 metres thick!
baino - I'm sure they would hit it off! This is so strange. When I read you message, my Friday was just beginning and your's is finishing. Just geography, I know, but wierd all the same. And yes, I know about those naughty cane toads. Usual story, I think, they weren't native to Australia.
miranda - and trianda. Now you have to admit, that has a ring!
Trianda is much cuter than the toads we get around here! Ours spend the misty Spring nights croaking fit to wake the dead and shagging ceaselessly on the rim of our pool. Occasionally my husband cracks at 3am, and exits the house in a flaming temper, spending a vindictive half hour catching them in the pool net and hurling them as far away into the undergrowth across the road as he can. It buys us an hour or so of peace... but they do come back...
What a face - clearly the reward is worthy of the effort of getting to the windowsill! I wonder if windowsill toad would like to meet leopard toad - though he is a bit noxious...
By the way, sorry I never came back to you on the previous blog post, the week got a bit mad.
jeannie - I used to live in pmb and I completely recognise the scenario, and have been up at 3.00 am too. Here things are much quieter, though as I said in an earlier response, it may be due to our thick walls ...
av - leopard toad, hmmm, they may need a chaperone. Don't worry about not coming back, life is too short!
I'll tell my husband! He'll probably be rather relieved to find he isn't the only one with a guilty toad-throwing secret :-)
PS Word verification is mistal - very suitable for this season here in Kwa-Zulu Natal.
I may use Windowsill Toad as a psuedonym in future.
Serious looking chap isn't he? I've a feeling I wear a similar expression when studying a dessert menu :o)
Well one would Karen, wouldn't one?
What a lovely, wise old toady face. Definitely a she. That toad has lived a bit.
Love the steps too.
We opened the front door the the pizza delivery man the other (wild and windy) evening to find a toad waiting on the doorstep. Didn't charge extra for it, either!
lane - wise. Exactly!
dot - but the important thing is no one trod on the wee beastie.
so you kissed a princess and turned her into a toad! I was wondering how you knew she was a she....ick....maybe you should try the reverse and start kissing some toads instead....
kimmy - I think it's worth a try, but I worry that the toad might be unhappy with her transformation ... (and I might get my face slapped).
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