Summer days

For many years now, we’ve had the pleasure of observing a toad that lives in our garden. It spends a lot of time in the vegetable patch, dedicating itself to eating snails and slugs, making it a welcome helper. We know it’s a Mediterranean toad (Bufo spinosus) that has its hiding spots in the garden, such as in the compost and in the cool shade of the hedge surrounding the vegetable patch. This is because toads live a predominantly terrestrial life for most of the year, preferably in cool environments, but they do go to the water during mating and reproduction season.

But the toad also signals the arrival of summer for us. With long days and many hours of sunshine comes the heat. And under these conditions, our toad comes to take a bath in the biological pond!

It appears first thing in the morning by the biological pond while we’re still having breakfast and then plunges into the water. This happens almost every hot day of summer. The toad always chooses to approach through the vegetation to get very close, almost running the last few steps across the pavement to jump into the water with a big splash. It then remains almost motionless, suspended in the water, enjoying the coolness. Only after a few minutes of stillness does it begin to swim calmly in the biological pond. Sometimes it dives, sometimes it hides among leaves. And after about half an hour, it leaves the water and returns to the vegetable patch to continue its daily routine.