Night toad

Last night, just before bed, I decided it would be a good idea to have a cup of calming mint tea out on the front porch, and enjoy a little night air, the insect sounds, and some stargazing. There had been a bit of a rainfall a little while earlier -- not much, not even enough to hear it inside the house. But it was still enough to help to bring out the toads... or frogs... I'm not exactly sure which they are, though I think they are toads. They seem to appear under these circumstances.

I let the dogs out while I was sipping my tea, and they basically ignored the amphibians (except for one cursory glance/sniff by little Louis). I thought it might be fun to try to get a closeup shot of one of these nocturnal visitors, and, using the indirect light from my flashlight for illumination, I managed this one:



The beast was pretty amenable to getting its picture taken, not moving a muscle while I snapped this shot from about six inches away.

The end result is just slightly creepy, I think. -- PL