Stealth Toad

I was digging some holes for new plants in the narrow strip of backyard dirt that satisfies my urge to garden, when I came across a gopher hole. The gophers have created the equivalent of a small city under our back lawn. Compared to the way it looked when we moved in, it is a mess. My little garden strip is their supermarket. I have seen them drag whole basil plants into their lair, one at a time, leaving just the leaves hanging out of the entrance while they munched contentedly on the roots and stems. Most plants do not survive, but I've built up a repertoire of flowers there that are apparently not as tasty as basil.

So, thinking that I had located the back door to the pesky rodent's home, I gave the gopher hole a big chop with my shovel, and missed this toady little guy by a millimeter. I think I saw his skin move as the shovel passed over it, it was that close. Of course, I dropped to my knees, afraid that I'd chopped this poor toad, but he/she was still nestled in the dirt. I carefully slid the shovel about four inches under him and tried to pick up the whole clod with toad intact, eliciting a frightened squeak. Back down on my knees, I carefully dug Mr. Toad out and took another picture before he used my hand as the springboard onto the concrete, hopping away relatively unharmed.