Last week was hot. I mean Minnesota summer hot. It was sticky, impossible to enjoy; the kind of day where you leave for work at 6:15am and you feel like you're breathing in water (this is the main reason I don't live in India today. I'm sure you were wondering). Of course my air conditioner in the car was on the fritz, and when I called the mechanic (the LOVELY boys at vroom), I wasn't even sure what to tell them. It went something like this, "It's working, it just doesn't seem to be at full capacity. Unless it is and it's just so hot I can't tell, like there's no winning in this situation..." for about 15 minutes, probably. Anyway, for you boys and techies, it was a pound low on free-on. Can we move on now? :P
I came home from work one day last week and could not wait to get out of my clothes; too hot to wear so many clothes plus an apron to work. I went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands (I love the way I turn clean water brown when I wash my hands after work...I really feel like an effective hand-washer), and there was a common toad in the sink.
Now, this shouldn't really surprise any of you. But what made this interesting is that I had just spoken with my dear friend, Didi. I was telling her how hard it is to go out to eat when you always go out with someone who is deathly allergic to onions. She told me about this little Indian place in Minneapolis on Central that cooks Jain food. Now of course I had to look into this, and to why it would matter to me (or C.Awesome, who secretly hates curry). Turns out, Jain is a sect of the Hindu religion that believes life in all of it's forms is valuable. They only eat sustainable food, nothing they have to kill to eat, even vegetables like onions and garlic (because the root is what you eat, and that is it's life). They live to never offend anyone and wear a lot of white. Apparently their version of Karma is a little different, but I can't remember how. So C.Awesome was intrigued by this idea, as it is basically the rules of his made up land, "Timtopia," with the exception that in Timtopia, if someone is a big jerk face, the rest of the people have the right to kill him...or something. It's self policing, I remember that much, and there is a lot of emphasis on underwater basket weaving. But I digress.
There was a note on the counter about there being a toad in the sink. Turns out, Captain Awesome had found the toad on the sidewalk, dehydrated, and unable to get out of the burning sun. He put it in the sink to cool it and rehydrate it. Cool.
As the day went on, we noticed that his right side had been crushed, apparently by someone stepping on him. He had a collapsed lung and his right arm didn't seem to be in socket. We are told we are hilarious when this stuff happens, because immediately we take action. C.Awesome went and found an aquarium, we put foliage in there from the turtle's terrarium, and real ferns from our plant collection. We tilted the aquarium slightly so there was water on one side and dry on the other. We researched online and found that often toads and frogs will heal if left alone, and may not eat for a few days. So we monitored him from afar and left him on the kitchen table. The next day C.Awesome went and bought crickets from the pet shop in case he got hungry.
The crickets immediately got out, except for a few larger ones. The toad didn't seem all that interested anyway, and when we began to corral the crickets back in, they crawled right over his nose and he didn't make a move. We kept him for three days, and he showed progress, but that right arm began to shrivel, and it was clear he was not going to have use of it. I did call the Wildlife Rehab Center and left a message, somehow believing that toads may be below their list of concerned animal rehabilitation options. They called me back the next day in a bored voice and left a message for me to call them back. Nah. They weren't going to do anything different than I was, and I've have interesting experiences putting Ferrel animals in cars and driving them around.
On the fourth day, we decided to put him out in the backyard and see if he was well enough to be free, or if we should bring him inside, but in any case, he needed sun and fresh air. As soon as we put him down, he began to hop around; his back right leg had completely healed and he seemed to not really need that right arm as much as one might imagine. He hunkered down in the grass and we watched him watch the world for a while. Then we put him safely in our garden where we knew there were other toads and went inside.
So now, a week later, I have two male crickets; one in the basement and one on the main floor. It's odd, having crickets in the house, but at least they aren't following me around anymore. I see no problem with it. In China they are considered good luck. I even moved my lucky bamboo to the southwest corner of my most used room. Apparently that should help me win the lottery, according to the ancient art of Feng Shui. :P
So I sit here, on a Sunday morning, with the patio door open, listening to crickets chirp in the basement, and birds chirping on the patio, and I am content. So, if your kid wants a pet, or your house is too quiet, I suggest you run out to the pet store and spend 2 bucks on a little pile of crickets. It's like camping all the time.
Today's Song of the day is
Because it's a great song, and it's by Toad the Wet Sprocket. And because I woke up with it in my head today.
And here's a Poem by Charles Dickens, though my toad fared better than his.
Can I view thee panting, lying
On thy stomach, without sighing;
Can I unmoved see they dying
On a log,
Expiring frog!
Say, have fiends in shape of boys,
With wild hallo, and brutal noise,
Hunted thee from marshy joys,
With a dog,
Expiring frog!
