Frog and Toga

Nice surprise today though you might think I'm easily pleased.

Recently slugs have been a real bastard in my garden; they've even had the effrontery to creep up the side of the beautiful herb pot given to me by velvet_the_cat and Dan sans lj, and start noshing on the lovely plants therein. Apart from picking them off by hand (urrgh) I have been at my wits end. Didn't want to use chemicals cos slugs are the mcdonalds of the hedgerow world; song thrushes, hedgehogs, frogs, toads...just about every wee beastie now disappearing from England's green and pleasant land either eats slugs, or eats something that eats slugs. They are disgusting but necessary.

My diffidence has paid off; today I found myself almost nose to nose with a beautiful frog leaping around our garden. It's fully grown, variegated dark and light green, with gorgeous eyes. I love amphibians; the way they metamorphose is real magic. Quickly I built a temporary swimming pool for it, because the day is hot, and froggy might be a bit lost and dry. The almost-pond is the bottom half of an old pump fountain, a big plastic pseudo-half barrel. I put old paving slabs to form a stairway up to its rim, and corporation bricks staggered to make a stairway down into its depths. It looks ridiculous, but I don't know what else to do. Anybody out there know about the care of froggies, give me a shout...I don't want this visitor to go the way of the 240 invetebrate corpses still rotting in my wormery. *shakes head* I never chose to be the Nemesis of the Worm, but you can't fight destiny.

Today, I am wearing a beautiful toga made for me years ago by velvet_the_cat. Those Romans knew how to feel comfortable in the heat, and I don't give a damn what the neighbours think. Ave.

Frog (II)

Very pleasant visit from evilwillow and cyanidemigraine this evening. Just nice to talk and froth. Ralik brought in a teeny tiny frog with one of its limbs missing. I put it in the garden, far away from His Prowliness. Later, caught another teeny tiny frog in the kitchen. Maybe we're on a migratory path or something. I put it out. Not long after, I found Ralik eating and playing with something he had caught, and I fear it was wee kitchen froggy.

I mustn't have a pond here. The garden will just become some sort of ranic killing fields.

Nature is horrible.