Great Horny Toads

Not a great horny toad, but it is the first toad of spring. this little guy was just sitting in the grass beside a small pond beside Gillies lake.

I think the little creature must have just crawled out of it's winter hiding place. It just sat there. the dog gave it a little push with his nose , but no response. I gave it a little push just to see if it would move forward, but it was only interested in absorbing the little bit of  warmth from the sun that was beaming between the clouds. I think it will have to sit for a couple more days until some warmer weather. enature a great site for making identifications of creatures tells me there are 2 types of american toad, but does not discuss the difference. I wonder what it is?

While I took pictures of the toad Roll'n had his head stuck in a hole on the side of the pond. I am sure a muskrat must live there. He likes to play with muskrats. When I was ready to leave he had worked his way into the burrow so that his entire head was not to be seen.

His white face was blackened with poop and mud, he smelled so bad!

We got home and into the bath he went. He hates baths, he hates water for that matter. He will not swim and walks around puddles on the road.

Oh deer - they are only metres away

The kids and I had fun building a deer blind in the back yard.

Every evening at about 5:30 the deer walk through the woods at the back of the yard. We built a wall and put a sheet over us so the deer would walk right past us.

Worked great he first night when the first group of deer walked close to us. When the second group of deer came close a strange sound that seemed to be coming from behind caught my attention.

I could not resist I had to take a look. When I ducked out from under the sheet it must have spooked the gang of 9 deer. While walking up the hill I dicovered the noise I was interested in was actually the daughters stomach. We should have eaten before we came down.

The next evening 3 deer ran through the yard just as I started to go down to the blind. We waited for an hour for the big gang to arrive, but they never showed.

Roll'n had to sit this one out. The first evening we were here he got to chase the deer, but they are so fast he only get of look at which direction they went and never saw them again. He did not run after them for too long.

Hope everyone is having fun this holiday season.