Animal Anecdotes

(not the offending shoe creature - I was too traumatised to think about grabbing my camera- but he looked a lot like this. Source)


'Toad in the Hole'

The other day, I was getting ready to go for my morning run, and having donned my usual attire, I realised that my trainers were not in their usual place in the shoe cupboard. Remembering that I'd taken them off in the bathroom the day before, I headed in to put them on, slightly rushed in doing so as I had been a little bit distracted by my Bloglovin' feed earlier, and was cutting it a bit fine. I hurriedly jammed my foot into my right shoe, but as I attempted to do the same with my left, UI felt my toes knock against something hard and puzzled, I lifted the shoe up to eye-level in order to investigate. Certain it was probably a forgotten sock from the day before, all bunched up in the toe of my trainer, imagine my surprise when I see a pair of hooded eyes peering out of me. Yep, don't worry, it wasn't a sock in there - just a flipping massive, warty toad!

Honestly, you should have heard me scream. I was so shocked that I flung the trainer down and started shrieking and shrieking as I ran out into the garden to tell my husband what had happened. It soon turned to hysterical laughter, to the point where I couldn't even breathe, let alone speak. A little dramatic, some might say, but you try finding a toad in your shoe. I should probably also mention that I'm in Brazil, so I think along with the shock was just a smidgen of fear that it could perhaps have been poisonous.

We seem to be having quite a few reptile-related incidents lately, come to think of it - although this was the first that directly involved me. 

Every night for the past few weeks, when my husband has been arriving home from work in the dark, a huge great toad has hopped towards him out of the darkness by the front gate, stopped, and promptly done a huge wee. No word of a lie - every night. At first I thought it might be having 'accidents' because it was scared, but hearing that it actually approached him cast doubt on that theory. We later Googled it and discovered that toads often do this when they feel under threat, as it leaves them lighter, should they need to escape in a hurry.

In the front garden, there tend to be quite a few lizards running around, and whenever someone comes outside they make a break for it and scurry up the wall. Now, while that would usually be an end to it, a few weeks ago, shortly after my husband (yep, him again) had gone out to the car, I heard a shout from outside, and a few seconds later, in he came. When I asked him what had happened, he said that one of the lizards had 'jumped' onto him from the wall above. Please bear in mind that he absolutely hates the things. I couldn't help but laugh at him, particularly at the fact that he took it so personally, but sure enough, a few days later it happened to him again. It's now happened a handful of times, leaving him extremely wary each time he passes the garden wall. He always warns me to watch out, but I think it's pretty apparent that it's him they want. Whether they are suicidal or just have something against him, I'll never know -  that's between them and him, but he's now convinced that the reptilian world has got something of a vendetta against him and that they've all been conspiring against him.

I'll try and get some action shots of the toad that guards the front gate next time the hubby is working late.

xx