As I crested the driveway coming home last evening, I saw Mrs. Toady sitting smack-dab in the middle of the top of the drive, blocking the way. She looked like a miniature sentry as she faced my car, daring me to engage in some bizarre game of chicken. I halted the car, hesitant to try to maneuver over her to my parking spot, and she held her ground beneath my headlights. Thinking the whole world had gone mad, I put the idling car in park, yanked up the emergency brake, and exited the vehicle to approach her. It occurred to me that I had not seen her or her husband since my last Toady posting, and I admitted to myself that I had really missed them.
Mrs. Toady was looking very regal, indeed. She allowed me to approach within a foot of her without complaint. I asked her if she'd move out of the way, gesturing to the side of the driveway, but she wouldn't budge. A little exasperated, I explained that I couldn't move my car until she relocated, and I certainly couldn't leave it parked at such an awkward grade on the drive overnight. She listened politely, but remained quite indifferent. It took several minutes to coax her off the drive into the grassy area by our front walk, and to my dismay, she didn't appear to be in any great rush. As I shadow-stepped the Mrs. towards the yard, what I originally perceived to be a leaf, inconspicuously deposited on the drive some few feet away, scooted off in the opposite direction and into the dark.
This unexpected movement startled me, so I investigated. Lo and behold, our earlier suspicions were confirmed . . .
Meet the Toady Tot!
Junior was around an inch and a half long, and clearly had the jumping thing down pat already. He also allowed me to get very close to him, but after a moment was seized with an instinctive "Oh, crap!" paralysis, turning him into a tiny, toady tot statue. Stifling my giggles, I was able to persuade him to follow his mother into the side yard. One toad tragedy successfully forfended, much to my relief.
As I got back into my car, it dawned on me that the parking area at the top of the drive had once again been commandeered by the Toady family for its own personal use . . .
. . . as a nursery.
