Living in the burbs of Houston, I was surprised to see a Houston toad this morning. I’m almost positive it was one, and not a cricket toad, because it had a stripe down the center of it’s back.

The Houston toad is endangered. But I remember when it was more common.

When I was a child, one of my favorite critters was this tiny little toad. We’d see what seemed like millions of them near the church grounds and in our favorite park. “Please, please, mom, can we take a couple home? We’ll set them loose in the backyard!” “No,” my mother would say. “But everyone else’s mom let’s them!” we would proclaim. “No they don’t,” she would answer.

Well, maybe they did.
I still look for them in the places I used to go as a child. At my old church I see the children and wonder why none of them are crouched around puddles at the trees’ edge, muddying their Sunday best like I used to do. I catch myself seeking out puddles in the park, puddles that are empty.

Until today, I hadn’t seen the little toads in any of these places in a long time, because the Houston Toad is now endangered. I just looked in a puddle in the park near the elementary school out of habit, and there it was at the puddle’s edge!

Perhaps pesticides and other causes made them endangered? Surely this is true. I can attest that it is also true that none of these little toads survived to this day in my friends’ parents backyards. Even the ones who lived in the country and didn’t have lawns to spray. Even the ones who lived just a few streets over from the park. The separating of different toad colonies by roads is now listed as one of the causes for it’s endangerment. Separating individuals from the rest in order to keep them in one’s own backyard could not have helped.

Please, PLEASE leave wildlife where they are. Even if it seems like there are a million of them. Even if they’re only a toad.

The Houston Zoo is now breeding the Houston Toad in a effort to repopulate them, and surprisingly, Bastop’s State Park is said to have a population of them. (Surprising to me, ’cause I always thought that they weren’t found much outside the middle of town!)

Kids love them because of their small size. (Only 1/2 inch long!) This morning I pointed the one I saw out to a child and her mother, telling them what I thought it was. The mother was interested in the fact that it might be an endangered animal.
The little girl wasn’t listening; she was utterly fascinated by the tiny little toad.
Some things never change…

Here is a link that might be useful: Houston Toad

As we were speeding by on the highway, we passed a section of “forest” that was behind iron fencing. My daughter remarked that that wasn’t very “friendly” of them to keep all those trees for themselves behind a fence. We then passed a subdivision entrance that was planted with sweeping lawn and trimmed shrubbery. This looks much more friendly. But is it really?

What is a “friendly” landscape? One that looks inviting, or one that actually is?

No one can actually use the expanse of lawn at the entrance to that upscale subdivision. If they did, I’m sure the police would ask them what they thought they were doing and how they got there. No sidewalks lead to it. Bound on one side by a freeway, on another by a major thoroughfare, and on the third by one of those decorative walls, it is completely inaccessible to pedestrians. Perfectly manicured lawn and exotic plants are of no use to wildlife. No butterflies pause there, no animals find shelter. And the chemicals used on that bit of “inviting landscape” no doubt kill birds and butterflies galore!

The fence bound “forest” can actually be used. It is home to many little wild critters and birds. And it can be accessed on the other side by people. No one needs to access it from the freeway: it isn’t as though there are any pedestrians there! So as unfriendly as it looks, it is in reality the real inviting landscape!

When we design a space, such as our own yard, we need to think about whether it is a “friendly” space. A front yard needs to look inviting, yes, but more importantly it needs to be inviting.

Self-seeding annuals are a frugal gardener’s dream: they come back year after year with no cost to you! But, you have to enjoy a “wild” or “cottage” garden garden, and you have to take care of them.

Prepping the bed
Pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day, since most self-seeders like sun. Make sure it gets enough water, either rain or watering. Your garden bed has to be full of rich, nutritious, and fluffy soil. Why fluffy? It has to be lightweight or else the seeds won’t be able to germinate! Clay soil needs to be heavily amended or replaced. Adding top dressings of compost and fertilizer is a fabulous thing to do every year, but NO mulch. Mulch keeps weeds out of the garden by smothering weed seeds–you don’t want your seeds to be smothered, too!

Maintenance of the Self-Seeders (more…)

“Victory Gardens” were grown during World War I and World War II as a way of relieving food rationing and shortages. Citizens were encouraged by their governments to grow food in the cities and suburbs. Today, we can grow our own small Victory Gardens as a way to enjoy fresh produce. Children and adults alike can enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from food that they have grown themselves. Nothing tastes better!
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So one of my neighbors has…er make that HAD three beautiful large (30-40 ft tall) trees in her front yard.
She’s a gardener–you know, the type with all the cool plants and roses and absolutely no thought to landscaping (why gardeners’ yards often look the worst is a subject for another post…)
Anyway–back to my RANT:
Apparently, she thought she needed more sun for her eclectic assortment of flowering shrubs, and had ALL HER TREES CHOPPED DOWN!!!!!!
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