I mentioned spotting lots of baby toads and many butterflies around the property when I mowed last week. The monarchs seem to have moved on since then but others are still fluttering here and there. Toads are much easier to photograph. The pics posted today are all different ones. What’s impressive is that they were all photographed within six square feet. It’s right where I water the raised beds and where the bird bath is. Lots of moisture and food for them. The other pics are from the yard within the last week.
Lots of Queen Anne’s Lace and milkweed in the yard
The one sunflower is a volunteer from chipmunk planting it.
I suspect this is a millet plant, also from being planted by chipmunks. The stalk looks so much like corn.
Cousin It and Pal Ginkgo
Tao Talk 
Nice shots.
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Thanks, Sadje :) Those little critters must be eating a lot of bugs.
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Yup!
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❤️
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:)
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Your millet might be sorghum. Queen Anne’s Lace is one of my favorite invasive species. The root is edible (I haven’t tried it), but the plant bears some resemblance to hemlock, so know what you’re picking.
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Steve, I looked up sorghum on wiki and some call it a kind of millet. Sorghum gets 9 ft. tall, so let’s see how tall it gets. You’re right both stalks look the same, and the sorghum seeds they show look just like what’s in the bird seed. Interesting on QAL and hemlock. Which one has that little purple center?
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Queen Anne’s Lace. I don’t think they look that similar, but I’ve seen warnings about them.
Since soghum is grown here (both grain and syrup varieties) but millet isn’t, I didn’t realize how closely they are related – close enough that, yes, sorghum can be referred to as a type of millet. And both are related to corn, hence the similar leaves.
I’ve eaten millet (and now I know why birds reject it for tastier seeds) but not sorghum, except in syrup form. Millet was a staple in northern China (more so than rice). An article I just read in a Chinese newspaper says it is making a comeback.
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Lots of toads and butterflies is the sign of a healthy and beautiful garden!
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Love your pictures!
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The toads are adorable 🤩 I just wrote a piece this week where my research took me through the tie in between monarchs and milkweed so I was thrilled to read about them both in some combination here today ☺️
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Yes, they are. They don’t seem to sense I mean them no harm, but they are young :) Yes, the monarchs love milkweed and those purple flowers I posted recently is probably more their favorite than the milkweed.
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The monarchs also lay their eggs in milkweed! I needed a reproductively repetitive species and they were it!
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:)
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They have great camouflage☺️. My mom used to cook the milkweed greens.
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Oh really, on the milkweed greens! Good to remember. Yes, they do!
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The toads know right where to hide! And that’s a great sunflower. (K)
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Yes, they do, K. The sunflower is bright blessing.
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Nice pics and evidently lots of toad action going on. They blend in pretty well and are not so obvious to spot! :-)
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Thank you, Christian. You’re right they blend in perfectly and if they didn’t move I’d probably step on them. They are adorable little critters and I have a good suspicion they are offspring from the mama toad living under the cacti spikes awhile back.
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Lovely photos. Such healthy milkweed. I hope if any of the Monarchs laid eggs that a few survive!
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fingers crossed I missed them when I just looked. I do see chew marks on some leaves, so…
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The gopher likes milkweed too. I had some down a the end of the yard and the gopher ate them almost down to the ground.
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Oh wow! You remember that butterfly weed orange that I shared pics of? Something did the same thing to it. It’s totally gone :(
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Maybe racoons?
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Well I’ve seen them under the bird feeders, and the plant was not far from there, so…
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Do you have any hedgehogs (gohphers?)?
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No. I think the water table is higher here and not to their liking. :::knock on wood:::
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I like the toads.
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We had an hours-long rain last night and I’m sure that makes them happy.
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