Farewell, Toad - Toad Study: Part 4

"Whoever has not had a pet toad has missed a most entertaining experience. Toad actions are surprisingly interesting; one of my safeguards against the blues is the memory of the thoughtful way one of my pet toads rubbed and patted its stomach with its little hands after it had swallowed a June Bug. Toads do not make warts upon attacking hands, neither do they rain down nor are they found in the bedrock quarries; but they do have a most interesting history of their own, which is not at all legendary, and which is very like a life with two incarnations."

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock - Page 170

They say all good things must come to an end and our Toad Study is no exception. We released our dear Toad back into the wild last night, ending his week-long stay with us. Tyler decided that Wood Lake Nature Center would be a great place to live if he were a Toad. So that is where we released him. Daddy helped us choose the perfect place to let him go... near the woods and a really nice grassy area (where lots of bugs live) and not far from the pond.

Tyler was feeling both happy and sad as we watched our little Toad friend hop away... sad to see him go, but happy that he was going to live is such a wonderful place. He thinks our Toad will be much happier at Wood Lake than in the urban yard where Daddy found him.

We joked that he was probably glad to have something besides Crickets to eat! And judging by the mosquito bites on Tyler's legs, I think he will be plenty satisfied in his new home!

Farewell, Toad!

Maybe we'll meet again one day on the trails at Wood Lake. Tyler hopes you will hop over and say hello if we do. :)

You can read all of our Toad Study posts HERE.

There will be one more installment coming, when we add our Toad to our Nature Journals.

Also, if you have found our Toad Study interesting, you may enjoy Melissa's Amphibian Study over at In the Sparrow's nest. Her kids collected some Toad eggs at a nearby pond and they got to study them as they hatched and transformed. She has lots of photos and videos of their journey from egg to tadpole to Toad. Check that out here.