Monday, May 29, 2006

You don't want to know me...

I'm a toad-cuddling tissue composter.

Seriously - I've been mega sick recently, which has manifested in terrible allergy-like symptoms and insomnia. Suffice it to say, I've been using a surprising number of tissues, even for me. This, coupled with my new desire to seek out fodder for my compost bins has led to the latter practice (the first is innate).

Well, tissues are cellulose, right? Worms will very happily bed in shredded newspaper or cardboard (though they need food - like regular compostables), so why not my snotty tissues? Most of the time, I use recycled, unbleached ones, but as my illness marches on, so does my need for high-tech, mainstream equipment: Puffs, Extra-strength Puffs, Extra-strength Puffs with Lotion...By fall they'll be fertilizing the Crab Apple.

In other news, after three years of tending, the lawn is finally starting to look like a lawn. And it's a toad lawn, after all - they're everywhere! It's been a moist spring, and yesterday I flushed five of them (from 3/4" to 2 3/4" long) while mowing the grass (don't worry, the blade is set very high - I mowed over a baseball and didn't know it - unless they jump directly into it, they'll be fine. Plus, I swoosh a rake through the whole thing before I start.)


The principle toad threats are our basement window wells...even through they're covered, toads frequently are trapped in them. We have to go on regular hunts to fish them out - we need some sort of toad ramp. I love, love, love toads. Love. Them.