Toad Power Spot

Under my house, which sits on posts, I have Qest pipes, an easy to install but now somewhat discredited plumbing system, running to two outdoor faucets. The connections on the kind of Qest I have tighten by hand or with slip-joint pliers. But there's one connection that resists all my efforts to stop its slow leak. The result is a constant dark spot on the ground about the size of a small saucer that bothered me, till one morning recently I saw a toad sitting in it.


I had just taken my most recent shot at stopping that drip the day before, and with great hope I had scraped that spot dry, but to no avail, and meanwhile this toad had taken advantage of the spot to dig it out to nearly an inch deep, in which he was sitting snugly and didn't want to move, unless touched. I'm sure that the long drought that we've been in helped to inspire him to do this.

A little later the cat appeared within two feet of the toad, but they seemed not to notice each other. Still, I worried that the toad would, in his impromptu jacuzzi, quickly become a meal for the cat. And for several days I didn't see Mr. Toad. But then one evening there he -- or a different one -- was, contentedly sitting in the little cup.

It's great how our fellow animals, large or small, wild or domesticated, often give us something to smile about, whenever we see them taking advantage of our actions or inaction, as if we had only their needs in mind. This is the special province of cats, most frequently seen when they happen to spot an article of clothing or some similar item lying around that wasn't there earlier. They quickly put the item to its intended use, with never a doubt that it was put there solely to facilitate the activity that they do best: resting from their extensive labors.