Spring is one month away at Coteau Valley Farm in Northeast South Dakota and with its approach, we begin to anticipate the return of many creatures, one being the frogs. At the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer an army of frogs, hastily over-take the farm. They are literally everywhere you go on the property. They wait on the sidewalks, lazily sunning themselves or on the driveway pads or lurking in the tall grasses of the fields. I especially took notice of the round, squat toads who come out in the evening hours. They initially “seem like okay visitors” but they are kind of creepy with their fat little bodies, and dry skin full of warts. They sit in the dark grass like a fat lilli pad, on a quiet pond, waiting to jump out at you in the ultimate game of surprise. I can’t help but wonder where they come from or what they are in search of in the fields around the farm. I know that every two weeks these toads shed their skin and eat the whole of it which is… I’ll let you decide the word, ie. disgusting, cool, amazing… etc. They have sticky little tongues that collect about a thousand bugs a day, which is nice for me because the things flying at me on my walks are unnerving at best and have little value to my life on the farm. At least in my opinion or in comparison to the frogs. The farm supplies literally billions of meals for the toad and while he is eating his delicious meal of bugs and worms he is also enjoying a drink from a little pouch that holds water in his abdomen. Toads are not the best to have as a dinner guest or to take on a relaxing stroll in the afternoon hours, but they do have value to life and the ecosystem. I am excited for the hotter part of July when the army encamps in the fields with all its frog soldiers looking for a fly in the sun, that was probably just feasting on horse manure, to devour as a snack. I do wish I knew a lot more about them and where they come from or where they actually dug under the earth and hybernated all winter long. Yea, I know they hibernate too. I actually know quite a bit about them because they interest me in some creepy way and I would like to get inside the mind of a little toad and see the world from his vantage point. Why not? Toads are happy to eat a bug and just thankful for the sunlight of the day. A life of bugs and sun seems to be enough for these little guys and I guess they have a smidgen of cuteness and wonder, maybe there is something about them after all! Guess in July I will take a closer look at my guest, Mr. Toad.
Coteau des Prairies
South Dakota Hobby Farm
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