Teeny Tiny Toads

Teeny tiny tadpoles

Skipper’s post:

You may remember that in MelT’s post about  Pondering, she included a video that showed the 12,000 teeny tiny tadpoles that swam with me. That’s the video link above. You should watch the video! The tadpoles are at the end but it’s not very long and the part about me is the best anyway. Well, guess what! Now I have teeny tiny toads!

Do you see a toad?

I’ll bet you didn’t know that tadpoles turn into toads. I didn’t either! I wonder what I looked like as a baby. Did I have a long tail and no legs? It’s hard to imagine and I sure don’t remember being like that. But then, do the little toads remember being tadpoles? If you don’t remember it, does it even count? I mean, is the teeny, tiny toad in the photo above REALLY the same animal as some tadpole swimming in my pond? It’s a question for the ages.

Oh hey, did you find the toad? Don’t give up!

My foot with a teeny, tiny toad

Okay, that’s not a real photo of my foot with a teeny, tiny toad, MelT had to photoshop it. For one thing, I might step on it. For another, they don’t hold still for even a second! And they can really jump! Not as well as I can, of course, after all jumping is my superpower, but still they’re pretty good

Seeing the size of the toad next to my foot should give you a better idea of what you’re looking for in the first photo. Keep looking.

Teeny, tiny toad on a pebble

I’ve been having nightmare lately that I am crushing hundreds of little toads every time I take a step! And now that I know they’re toads, I feel bad about all of the tadpoles I swallowed when we were swimming together. MelT says not to worry about it, but what does she know? She’s not an herbivore you know, even if she is vegetarian.

Teeny, tiny toad

The teeny, tiny toads are still teeny, tiny, but they have grown a lot! Can you even imagine how small they were before? How many toads can dance on the head of a pin? A lot!

Teeny, tiny toad

MelT says life is dangerous for microscopic toads. Aside from me stepping on them, or MelT who has big, clumsy feet, birds eat them. Even insects eat them! Can that be right? Don’t toads eat insects? And what can such an incredibly small animal eat? I don’t think they are herbivores, so it’s not plants. I hope they don’t eat smaller toads! Oh! I wish I hadn’t even thought that! It’s making my stomach queasy.

Where’s the toad?

Did you ever find the toad in the top photo? Probably not. You probably gave up before you even tried. I am disappointed with you. You DO NOT get an A for effort! But I’m still going to give you the answer. See that blue circle? The toad is right in the middle of that. I think you’re still going to have to click on the photo to make it big enough to see. I really wasn’t kiddng about how teeny, tiny they are!

You know what? Since you pretty much got an F for effort, you could work on an A for participation. All you need to do is leave a comment. You could tell me about your own experience as whatever a human used to before they turned into a human. Were you dolphins? You kind of look like dolphins. Or you could tell me about teeny, tiny animals in your yard. Or about giant animals. Or about how you’re not supposed to lick a toad. I don’t even know why that is a thing.