Today I was working outside and I spotted this little guy, just peeking out from the middle of this rock path.   I nearly stepped on the little fella’… which could have been highly traumatic.  Not only for the toad, but for me as well.  I named him Ted.

They are cool little animals. The toad is an amphibian, which means it is capable of living on land as well as in the water.  Me too.

There a few distinctions between toads and frogs.  Frogs jump high…  toads will run or walk or take little hops.     The skin of a toad is rougher and drier than that of a frog.  I don’t know if they use body lotion, or not.  But I am going to buy some for Ted.

Neither toads, nor frogs, will give you warts.

They don’t have teeth, so they can’t chew.   This also rules out bobbing for apples…. and salt water taffy.

A toad swallows its live meals whole.

 Toads use their eyeballs to help swallow their prey.  I’ve never seen this.  But… yuk.

Some toads excrete toxins which taste very bad to their predators, thus keeping them safe.

  Some toads are poisonous, the excrete poison through their skin.  Our youngest dog knows about this.

Most toads are small, but in Australia, a toad has been found that weighs two pounds and is the size of a football.  Now… I may be a city girl.  But one thing I am sure of… you don’t mess with a football-size-toad.  Ever.

Toads like beer.  No, that’s not right.  Just hops.  Now that I think of it… they  only drink Croak-a-Cola.

And… I once met a toad at a Computer Repair Class.  The little guy didn’t do so well.  He just sat there… saying over, and over again….

“Re-boot.  Re-boot.  Re-boot.”

He toadally failed the class.