We were tidying up the patio the other day and sweeping up all the slugs who live behind the lettuce box in an attempt to have a vaguely slug free environment before planting this year’s lettuce when we found this beauty snoozing underneath. The picture doesn’t really do him justice, he is beautiful and fat and round and perfectly podgy frog shaped, he also didn’t think much of having his photo taken and kept running back under the box every time I moved it.

He didn’t look best pleased at a) being disturbed this early in the year, b) having all his slugs tidied up that he was saving for later or c) having all his nice damp muddy nest that he had made under our box cleared away, so we sent him round the corner to the log pile with a couple of slugs and told him we would wake him up in May.

We have been reading a lot of Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel recently (Harper Collins have published a collection with all the stories in together) I remember reading some of them as a child and am pleased to have an excuse to read them again. Frog is always jolly and sunny whilst Toad is a bit grumpy, miserable (is it possible for a toad to be clinically depressed?) and fairly irrational at times but his friend Frog is always there to look out for him. One of my favourite bits is from ‘Spring’ – ‘Toad went back into the house. He got back into bed and pulled the covers over his head again. “But, Toad,” cried Frog, “you will miss all the fun!” “Listen Frog,” said Toad. “How long have I been asleep?” “You have been asleep since November,” said Frog. “Well then,”said Toad, “a little more sleep will not hurt me. Come back again and wake me up at about half past May. Good night, Frog.” “But, Toad,” said Frog, “I will be lonely until then.”‘

Sometime it worries me how much like Toad I am…

Image source: Harper Collins

So although it is really the wrong way round, seeing our rather disgruntled frog did make me smile.

It’s raining today (which is nice for the lettuce and for frogs) so I have finished jumper number two, I’ll see if I can get a mug shot of it being worn, but here it is drying off, it looks a little dark because it is soggy but you get the general idea.

Ooh, that means I am properly allowed to do some of jumper number three (which is really a cardigan) which I wasn’t supposed to have started before…