Say Hello to My Warty Friend

This little dude was on the doorstep of my garage around 4am (i.e., when the dog told me she really really had to go pee). That’s not a great place for a smallish amphibian to be, considering there are predatory mammals who patrol the territory and would be happy to take a run at a toad. This particular type of toad has a mildly toxic coating that will make such an encounter an unhappy one, so it’s possible he’d survive meet-up, but that wouldn’t stop an exploratory bite. I tried to nudge it with my phone to get it to hop away, but the toad seemed resistant to being pushed. Then I figured it out: I had left the outdoor garage light on, attracting a bunch of flying insects, and this little dude was hanging around for the snackage. So I turned off the light, thus ruining his smorgasbord, with the hope he would hop away in disappointment. This morning did not find me discovering either his eviscerated body or any frog blood, so I think I may have been successful. I wish this little dude…