"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Sunday, July 16, 2017

The Texas Horned Toad.........Lizard or Croaking Toad??

Those of you who have been reading my blog over the years , 
are familiar with this rugged looking miniature dragon
that I often post photos of.  The horned toad.........that is what 
I have heard it called all of my life.......
so many of you have asked........."does it croak like a toad or frog?".....
so to clear it all up........
this is actually the Texas Horned Lizard........and no
it does not croak.......or even make a noise......
or at least I have never heard it.

this is our common rain toad........they are never seen until
a heavy rain has come.........then they unbury themselves 
and croak loudly across the fields. As soon as it dries up
they disappear back into the earth.

this is a skink.........much like a lizard......but not as friendly,
I have made the mistake of catching one
and it furiously snaps with it's strong little mouth.

this is a common lizard that is often seen in the flower beds
and rock garden here .

These are bullfrogs that hang out in the pond.........
as you can see, they grow to be very large.......
I am amazed with the fact that it is so hot and dry here
yet they always find the pond.......
where do they come from? .....I wonder.  

The " horned lizard" looks as tough and prickly as it's photo, it's spikes protect it from predators.......
however, it is very docile and never aggressive.
Children here in Texas, often pick them up and carry
them around throughout the day. 
The best thing about this creature ....... it loves to 
eat red ants. It can eat up to 200 ants at one 
sitting.  


another visitor to my flower gardens and pond
is the dragonfly. 
So tell me.........what strange and wonderful 
creatures are hanging around your flower beds or ponds??


13 comments:

Connie said...

Great photos! I enjoyed seeing all these creatures who visit you there. I don't see many animals in my flower beds except for an occasional toad, bird, or squirrel.

lil red hen said...

The horned toad looks very primitive doesn't it. We only have regular toads, bull frogs, and tree frogs. The tree frogs croak whenever it rains. Love them all! One day as I was sitting and crocheting, I saw something out of the corner of my eye; it was a tiny blue-tailed lizard, so cute! Toads always remind me of The Wind in the Willows.

Granny Marigold said...

What unusual creatures you have in Texas!! I'm afraid we have nothing to compare here in B.C. We live very close to the US border but further North there are Rattlesnakes. We only have Garter snakes ( totally harmless). Apparently we have small lizards but I've never seen any.
I hope you're having a good summer!!

Blogoratti said...

What lovely animals to see around, really nice photos of each one of them. Warm greetings!

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I enjoyed this post, but I love seeing animals in people's blogs. Here in Ontario, we do not see lizards. Our toads are about, regardless of rain. In fact, I've seen a couple just in the past week or two. I used to see many more frogs on our property, but their numbers have dwindled. I regularly see rabbits. I also had a skunk making its way through my compost pile. Chipmunks abound and the odd black squirrel. -Jenn

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

There are no creatures here because we no longer have a garden, but when we did there were only leopard frogs. Thankfully, I never saw a snake. Thanks, Kathleen, for this intro to all your yard visitors.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

OMGosh I love this post. I love to see critters that live in other parts of the country and the world. Keep the Skink..looks too much like a snake for me. I love lizards, though I don't want any for a pet. I think they should live in their habitat not in my house. I don't have Bullfrogs in my pond. Mine a smaller variety. I often wonder where the frogs come from and where they go. At the beginning of the summer we had 12. Now I'm down to 6. They came and then some left. I'm always glad when they stay.
xx, Carol

Hill Top Post said...

Wasn't it a "horned toad" Little Arlis in Old Yellow carried in his pocket? He looks as though he could make one feel a bit uncomfortable should he decide to do so! I surely did enjoy seeing your strange, but interesting, critters. We have toads and lizards in the flower beds, bull frogs in the pond, and tree frogs all around.

Debra said...

I also love to see your critters. I never would have imagined you could pick that fellow up! He's cute. I've always loved frogs and toads and lizards.
We have : chipmunks (too many), lots of birds, including 2 ravens that flew right over me this morning-they did not like it that I was walking out near their field. Coyotes, skunks, woodchucks, snails, slugs, moths and butterflies. I found a gorgeous luna moth yesterday that I was able to photograph. so pretty!

Karen said...

We don't have any of those critters except the bullfrogs and dragonflies. I really love the horned lizard, it seems like a very special creature.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What wonderful photos! You are really talented at candid portraits of these unique creatures. Mostly we have mosquitos!

Sherri Farley said...

I love to see all your interesting critters!

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

The animals in Texas are so interesting. Great photos!