Toad Hotel

We were occupied with paid gardening work for the month of May and only managed to allocate the allotments a concentrated burst of activity during the May Bank Holiday week.  During our absence from these two plots, the beds at the foot of the new fence, the former 'wildlife area' have rapidly reverted to nettles and bindweed. So our plans for sowing squash and tomatoes in these south-facing spots are in abeyance. 

However the wildlife is back and thriving.  One bed adjacent to the fence is a compost heap covered it with an old rug we found last year.  It is a local custom to leave out unwanted items in front gardens for whoever wishes to take them and our allotments have certainly benefitted from this.  Under the rug, which had it been in better condition would have toned in nicely with our bedroom carpet, we now have a cluster of toads (and one large frog).

I previously assumed toads were solitary creatures like the toad that intermittently visits our garage, the toad that used to live in the cellar of my childhood home, and the small toad that currently shelters under our shed.  I have never seen so many toads in one place before.  There are tiny toads, medium sized toads and large toads all wearing the camouflage colour of clods of earth.  I lift the covering just to see them when I am depositing weeds on the compost heap.  I am quick to replace it and careful not to block any toad exits. 

The toads, I assume, are living on a varied diet of slugs and snails, woodlice, beetles and miscellaneous invertebrates.  It is a virtuous circle - I continue to weed the allotments, depositing stuff on the pile, the creepy crawlies eat the veg., the toads feast on these in their turn.  Long may they remain in their 'toad hotel' and live as snug as the bugs under the rug.