I think these people don't understand why there are such huge numbers of toads, we're talking hundreds here, at each house. You can't walk through the flower beds or even the grass without them scattering. I know they don't like them I don't think they realize what they do for them. They look to be in their early 20's. Most of the folks in this subdivison are all young and first time home buyers, these toads are messing up something for them or in the way, especially the ones with toddlers, I imagine... They're so little and don't hop, they walk, I bet the little ones catch them and try to put them in their mouths or bring them in. I don't know. I don't talk to them. We're about the oldest people in the area, we don't have kids and don't hang out front in our garages like they all do. Hey, I found out why my cats are waking me up in the middle of the night though. Even though I leave them food out at night. Apparently about at least 3 of these guys are hanging out on the back porch and the cats are scared of them, LOL* Some of these guys are eating enough bugs to grow big! I went out to look and found this one and two others out there. I moved a bag of soil yesterday afternoon and found them hiding under it, so they like that porch. Last night I put their food up on the patio table and the cats let me sleep all night:)

Well guess what...I initially would have been right up there with the other two posts, but I was helping my mom plant flowers yesterday and she mentioned this very thing. I'd never thought of it, and it is a possibility, although easily remedied. Last year she had some geraniums in a pot on the back deck next to the pool and noticed that they were looking horrible. She checked them out and realized they were loose in the pot and when she started poking around in the dirt to tamp them down, three toads made a dash for it. When she told me this, I realized that they had simply been doing what toads do, which is search out mulch or loose dirt, someplace cool to hide out during the day's heat. They start with their rump and legs, scooting and shuffling further into their chosen site until they have made a hollowed-out spot just right for their body. Sometimes they will be completely covered with only an eye or two visible, like a little flounder or something. The potting soil in mom's geranium planter was always slightly damp and somewhat fluffy...perfect for a toad to root around in and wait for night to arrive. They do it in my mulched areas all the time but there's nothing here with new or fragile roots that might get damaged. That's the only way I can possibly think of where having toads might be a setback. Before putting the blame of them, though, look carefully in the soil around your plants to see if there are any hiding there, or look for their vacant hollowed out areas with fairly smooth interiors. . They might be any size, depending on the "tenant". Toads seem to know their way home and will return to a site again and again if they find it to their liking. If you do find them there, gently remove them and fill in the cavity they made, and then try to exclude them from returning. Despite anything they may have done to the roots of your plant, they truly are your best friend in the garden. Is there a similar place in your garden with shade and loose dirt/mulch or things to hide under where they would be more welcome?

SEE'S Chocolates.......ah, yes. Growing up in the northeast I'd never heard of them until my son married a California girl. Her family always sends her boxes of a variety of SEE'S Chocolates and they are good ! One of the treats I would enjoy also was when my son would give me a treasured small box of Vosages chocolates. They were so delicious and special I would cut them in half to make them last longer !! Funny sidebar....When he was first dating her we loved to shock her by diving into some horrid huge box of chocolates that clients would nicely leave for my son. Our family "tradition" for these less than wonderful chocolates was to take any and all we wanted and nip them, then put them back in the box. It was a riot of tasting and horrific behavior. I don't think she knew what to make of it then but NOW she understands and joins right in the craziness. ( okay, it's weird...but normal is just a setting on the washer !)

Well, thanks for all your comments and helpful advice, I do think it is a frog and can't understand why I didn't see it in the first place (but as an amphibianphile, I do feel rather foolish !!). That website is really helpful. It was one of the first visitors to the pond on a regular basis, and when I took the picture I thought toad, and it stuck in my braincells. Watch out for those sticky braincells. Now, this is a picture of one of the sleeping 'toads', but not a very good photo. There are several who I see crawl over to the pond in the evening, and this one seems to spend the rest of the day there too sometimes, especially when it's hot. Now, frog or toad? (I can hear the f word already....) Here is a link that might be useful: