Taken during a recent visit to Cabela’s in Glendale, Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.
Critters
A Desert Toad
I noticed something moving on the RV drive last evening after some thundershowers. I thought it looked like a frog. We took photos of it while it was climbing up the slope behind the drive.
After a little research this afternoon, we believe it is a Colorado River Toad, a.k.a. Sonoran Desert Toad. It matches the description given in Wikipedia for such toads.
We have long heard that desert toads respond to thunder and come out of their burrows to look for pools in which to spawn. This is our first encounter with a desert toad.
Click on the image to enlarge.
From Wikipedia
The Colorado River toad, Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is a psychoactive toad found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Its skin and venom contain 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin.
The Colorado River toad can grow to about 7.5 inches (190 mm) long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad (Bufo marinus). It has a smooth, leathery skin and is olive green or mottled brown in color. Just behind the large golden eye with horizontal pupil is a bulging kidney-shaped parotoid gland. Below this is a large circular pale green area which is the tympanum or ear drum. By the corner of the mouth there is a white wart and there are white glands on the legs. All these glands produce toxic secretions. Dogs that have attacked toads have been paralyzed or even killed. Raccoons have learned to pull a toad away from a pond by the back leg, turn it on its back and start feeding on its belly, a strategy that keeps the raccoon well away from the poison glands.
Guards
Beethoven (left) and Cabela stand guard every time we venture out on the patio. This evening, all the critters were out and about just before the rain, Thunder and lightning are in the area. Everybody is alert and on guard. Click on the image to enlarge.
Just Another Day Of Retirement
Most folks out there consider today to be “TGIF” day, but to us, it’s just another grueling day of retirement in our dream home. Damsel took this photo today after we finished walking the dogs, which seems to be one of the more important chores in retired life. Click on the image to enlarge.
The Min Pins
When the landscaping crew installed the replacement saguaro today, our two miniature pinchers (Cabela and Beethoven) were totally concerned about the activity going on out front. I snapped this photo of them atop the love seat while the work was in progress. Click on the image to enlarge.
Cabela’s Fourth Birthday
Today is Cabela’s fourth birthday (according to the Humane Society’s estimate). She was recovered at the Everett Bowman Rodeo grounds here in Wickenburg in August of 2010 and we adopted her shortly after that.
She is in excellent health (we took her to the vet this week for vaccine boosters) and is a very active dog. We over fed her for about eight months before putting her on a diet and now she is at a perfect weight of thirteen pounds.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Feeding the Critters
Once in a while, we toss some of our leftovers up into the wash behind the house. We have thrown stale bread, unused tortillas, rice (had a bug in the bag) and so forth. I had some left over celery (which usually goes into the compost) and decided to toss it into the wash. Later, we saw a cottontail rabbit munching on a piece. Click on the image to enlarge.