Tiny Wildlife in My Garden

Yesterday, the 4th of July, was a relaxing day. I had planned to help DH clean out the backyard gutters (a two-person job for safety's sake), but he decided we deserved a relaxed day instead, and we swept off the patio instead. One of the items on the patio was the old, rusted wheel barrow. We have it turned face down to keep water from accumulating in it, and it's just rusted enough to have one corner with a small gap. Apparently it was being used by a miniature toad, because he was quite unhappy when we removed his safe roof. 

This little guy had been hiding underneath our old
wheelbarrow. To get an idea of size, that's a maple
seed in front of him. He's really tiny. I love our
toads - we actually have quite a few of them sharing
our upper and lower yards. 

After a while, he moved into the grass, and for all I know he's back underneath the old wheel barrow again. After the patio was clean, we moved up to our second seating location to get away from the kids next door who were setting off fireworks while their Dad was building a wooden structure of some sort in the backyard. Our second seating is underneath a large maple tree in the middle of the upper yard. Looking over to my right, I saw another toad - this time on the hunt because he wasn't there long. 

This little toad in the upper backyard is on an old patio
brick. He wasn't there long, but long enough for me
to take a quick photo. 

Looking around me, I also saw this little odd bit of wood. Doesn't it rather look like a lizard slinking toward me? I loved the texture and could imagine eyes so easily. 

This log looked rather like a lizard slinking its
way through the undergrowth. I love the
different patterning of the bark and can almost
imagine eyes and a little forked tongue. 

So that was my 4th of July. Quiet, spent outdoors for much of it, and topped off by a lovely dinner that DH cooked on the charcoal grill. We had a delightful day off, but it's back to routine today. I hope all of you had a great mid-week holiday (if you're in the USA), and enjoyed your Thursday too. I'll be back tomorrow and I'm already looking forward to Sunday and one more day in my garden.