Lily Pad

The temperature had been warm enough so that the water in the pool remained pleasant well into the evening. A couple of years ago I had created a bio-filter system patterned after a natural fish tank filter we had back in Brooklyn. There is a bit more mechanical maintenance but aside from adding chlorine, we don't use many chemicals at all. The filter medium is 3/4-1" stones which we can wash by flushing with water whenever necessary.

When we first moved to the country (now suburbs), we were sitting on our deck in mid-late spring and we heard a toad croaking from what sounded like in or around the pool some 30 yards away. Another toad responded to the call from deep in the woods. The first toad repeated, and in each series of croaks back and forth, the distant toad's call got closer until finally we heard a splash in the pool. The first toad was obviously calling to and directing the second to come for a swim. Now they all know where to go and make a pretty good racket down there in the evening.

Last week at about 10:30pm I decided to go for a swim. Its totally awesome to float on your back until the stars are two inches from your face. The minimal gravity sends you straight into the sea of Andromeda. Dangerous I suppose as you can easily forget you are still in the water. Anyway, as I climbed up the ladder I heard one of our toad friends peep (not the usual croak) and splash into the pool. These are not deep water creatures. They tend to cling to the side with their legs dangling in the water. OK, so there I am floating around the milky way when I feel a toad jump up on my belly. It shocked me back to where I actually was and in my movement the toad peeped and splashed into the water. This time it was near enough to the edge of the pool so as to have something to cling to. I watched him attach himself and in the shadows I could see the silhouettes of a few others who were there waiting for their buddy.

I was so happy to be a toads lily pad and help it to get safely to where it needed to go.