Toad in the Hole

Imagine my surprise when I moved a brick in my raised soft fruit  bed this afternoon...there he was...this handsome black toad... He really made me jump and he jumped too.

Now some of you will know that we have a large pond in our garden and yet we never see any frogs or toads.  We dont know why this is..maybe our other wildlife, moorhens and wild ducks, make short work of them. Or maybe I am just not looking hard enough.  But this is the first one of these I have seen in nearly 20 years.   Anyway I replaced the brick and he just jumped back behind it.   

In other news....hurrah for Ireland, leading the world in their vote!  Who would have believed it could happen!  My mother would have been horrified.  My sister and I are hoping to visit relatives there in October so no doubt we will hear their opinions.