According to herpsoftexas.org, Gulf Coast Toads can grow up to 4 inches in length. So this must be a grandmother toad, as she is at the top end of her growth. (I’m not actually sure she is a she, but I thought in toads, females are larger.)
I can’t believe she just let me put my hand that close for a picture. But then again, I’ve had others of this species sit on the door sill as if they are waiting to be asked in for tea. She probably wouldn’t wait, she would come in and help herself!
I had a little bit of a panic today. I was spot checking the chickens (pick up one or two out of the twelve at random and check under the wings), and on the second check, found that Magic’s under feathers were coated in muck and debris. I called my eldest for assistance (well, texted), and we did a full check of all the chickens. Magic was the only one with the mud in her feathers. We didn’t see creepy crawlies in there, and it smelled like mud. I dusted some diatomaceous earth under her wings and let her go with the others.
It did rain last night, for the first time in a month, and it looked for all the world as if she tried for a dust bath and instead got a mud bath.
On the evening check, most of the debris was gone from under her wings, so I think she did try for an impersonation of a mud hen. I’ll still keep an eye on her though.
We have so many beautiful dragonflies around our house. Probably because of the pond next door, but I love that they are here. I dragged my good camera out of hiding because this dragonfly was perched in the late afternoon sun, and I couldn’t resist. I’m posting this picture because it seems unusual in the lineup of dragonfly pictures, with the coloring and composition, but I like the detail of the wings.
I was a dubious joiner on the pressure cooker parade. But after buying one, and hard boiling eggs in it, I am a convert. Even for the eggs alone it is worth the cabinet space in my kitchen. I am able to make other things with the pressure cooker, yes, but easily peeling a hard boiled egg, then having the yolk turn out like this… ahhh.
As an aside, I use egg stands to hold the eggs up out of the water in the pot, and I use the egg setting on my pressure cooker, which cooks the eggs for 5 minutes at high pressure. Then I manually release the pressure and immediately put the eggs into an ice bath (large bowl with ice and water) until they are cool.
Summer is winding down, school is starting, and my brain is in a million places at once. So today’s post is a sunny sunflower that is holding on and blooming despite the heat and stress. I also like the fractals in sunflowers, and that “fractal” and “fractured” have the same root, but very different current connotations. I like that the flower isn’t perfect, but still beautiful.
Critters and Craft 