A Toad's Art of Pilgrimage



American toad about to leap to freedom.
all photos by Jonathan Schechter
Brandon Township, Michigan Nov 21st, 2011

One toad and six frogs were trapped six feet down in a neighbor's window well. With winter at the
door they had all tried to wiggle under leaves and a bit of mud for hibernation time, and their season
of near deep freeze. But there was no way up and out.
Had they survived winter, death would have greeted them in spring.
The round up took less than an hour. Each one was removed carefully from their not so hidden hideaway they had tumbled into and placed in my lunch bucket for transport to a new land that offered natural shelter and life. Their fine art of seasonal pilgrimage was a 1 mile car ride followed by a 1,000
 foot hike. One by one, the climbed to the top of my lunch bucket transporter, looked about and
 jumped to freedom. Sometimes nature need's a helping hand. Kudos to the Oakland County
Sheriff's Deputy ( a friend of mine) that brought their dilemma to my attention.