'Tis the season of small creatures.

© harrington

Hi! Do you remember Mr. Toad, of Toad Hall, from Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows? He, Mr. Toad, not Mr. Grahame, has moved into or onto our driveway in recent days. He blends in quite well, as you can see above, and he parks his sports car conveniently out of the way. Of course, we now have to pay more attention to where we're driving so that we don't squish our illustrious guest or dent his prized motorcar. (I would have placed a dime next to him for a size comparison, but Mr. Toad felt he was doing quite enough by sitting still to have his portrait taken and would have none of it sitting next to coin of the realm. I'm hoping he's large enough to help reduce some of the recently hatched swarms of deer flies. He's barely big enough to catch and consume one of the multitudes of grasshoppers that were in abundance at Wild River State Park last Friday. (Look just right of center below. The critter that looks like a misshapen leaf is actually a grasshopper.)

© harrington

Anyhow, since our library no longer retains a copy of The Wind..., I may have to look into rectifying that situation. Perhaps I may even end up with an autographed copy (if we all drive more carefully than Mr. Toad). There's really no reason kids should have all the fun. Thanks for listening. Come again when you can. Rants, raves and reflections served here daily.