Jenn Doing My Best

Every summer, we get quite a few toads in our garden beds.

In the middle of summer, if you go on a night walk in my neighborhood, you can find a bunch of toads hopping about the sidewalks and in the grass.

You actually have to watch where you step sometimes because you could accidentally step on a toad! 🐸

Toads help the garden

I always love it when I find toads in the garden because they help keep some of the pests away.

So far, I’ve counted five toads living in our garden—three in the front garden and two in the back patio garden.

Sometimes I will find a toad hiding near one of my fairy houses with its body halfway snug in a little mound of dirt.

Collecting rainwater

We keep a five-gallon bucket in the garden to collect rainwater. I like to water the garden with the stored rainwater, especially on really hot days.

It’s not much, but at least it’s a little something for the plants when it’s time to water them again.

Mr. Toad swimming in the rain bucket 🐸💦

Mj (24) found one of the toads swimming in our rainwater bucket.

It was such a funny surprise. At first, we thought the toad was in distress, but he was perfectly fine. 🐸😆

Although I do think maybe it was hard for the toad to hop out since the bucket was a little deep for him.

But then again, I don’t know if toads can jump that high. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I gently scooped the toad out of the rain bucket and safely placed him back in the garden.

Making a toad pool

So, Zaya (5) had an idea to make the toads a toad pool in the garden.

We repurposed a small, clear storage box, and Zaya collected rocks, sticks, and leaves to put in the box. Then, she filled it up with a little water.

We haven’t seen any toads chilling in the toad pool yet 😂, but I did see a couple of Sparrows take some sips of water from the box. 🐦

I like to imagine maybe at night when we’re sleeping, a toad hops in the pool for a quick dip. 🐸😄

Next week, we’re supposed to have excessive heat in the high 90s. 🥵 Perhaps Zaya’s little toad pool can be helpful for our garden toads…and the birds.

💜 XO