The toad people have captivated the attention of all Nature School programs this past week. They could be heard at our welcoming circle site, Mulberry Maze, about a half mile away from their breeding grounds on Agraria.  

This group of Homeschoolers fell in love with the swimming amphibians, deciding to spend the rest of their day wading in the waters of a slow and trickling Jacoby Creek. The children learned that the males were smaller, grabbing a hold of the females and piggybacking on them. They opened field guides and read that one female toad can lay 12,000 eggs during breeding season. The eggs look like snaking strands of boba jelly balls (or tapioca pearls) with a dark dot in the center. 

Some of the male toads took a liking to the kids’ wrists and hands after being picked up, grabbing ahold of them with their strong thumbs (used to stay with the females and externally fertilize the eggs that they lay). The children wore smiles as they displayed their new “toad watches.” One girl was devastated that she couldn’t take her “pet” toad home with her. This provided a great lesson on loving and letting go. 

From all of the humans that got to gently play with, and witness, the special breeding grounds at the “far ford” of Jacoby Creek this week, we thank the toads for their patience and generosity, and bless their new lives!