Our Parson Terrier was so preoccupied by something she had found under the ornamental grasses and Daphne. No doubt it was something wild going about its business and now a dog’s wet nose was thrust into it and worrying the life out of it no doubt.
Throughout the garden I accept the beasties and bugs as a natural and welcome addition to the garden. The abundance we have living throughout does confirm the health of the garden, even if some of the flowers and shrubs do seem to be struggling. That is more to do with the consequences of climate change and the incredibly wet, and then incredibly dry conditions that is taking its toll on these plants that prefer the traditional season cycle.
Our dog is standing like a terrier stands. Her front half out of sight deep in the leaves and only her bottom sticking out and her tail wagging vigorously.
I suspect a frog. There was a time when we were overrun with slugs and snails. Over the years however, we have attracted frogs and toads and even newts. The slug is a delicacy of the frogs and toads and for the last 3 or 4 years, I have allowed the slugs to go untreated. This shift in control allowed the frogs and toads to have a ready food supply and now, there is a balance which I am happy to accept. Snails are being controlled by the birds. Empty shells are a sign that blackbirds and thrushes have been picking the meat out of the shells and leaving them discarded in a strangely created pile in one area, as if it is a waste bin. The empty shells crush up nicely and are ideal to mix with eggs shells and plastic free tea bags to add into the soil as a conditioner.
We have raptors in the area. Hawks, Owls, and others that feed on field mice and even rats as well as the frogs and toads. A Heron visits both gardens and local ponds in search of its food source. Even our smaller visiting birds are prey to the Sparrow Hawk as it flies through the gardens. Gnats, lacewing, and midges are devoured by the night-time visiting Pipistrelle bats. Around 3,000 are eaten each night. Going in search of what our dog is worrying, I crouch down in the bushes where it is half hidden and find her nose is nudging a frog. Not attempting to eat it, but encouraging it to move, I reached in and cupping my hands around it, pulled it away and out of harms way. I am happy for most wildlife to eat and be eaten in the natural order of things, but our domesticated dog is not part of that order and so a rescue was appropriate. There will be other frogs and other confrontations like this, but today, my rescue was the right thing to do, and this frog was released into some long grass away from harm to decide on what it wants to do.
