The heat of the past week is lifting and a breeze and distant thunder decided me to mulch some apple trees. The trees are on a gradual slope and with a mattock I create a half circle mound on the lower side and flare the ends of the mound away from the tree so as to ensnare as much running rainwater as possible. The mattock makes quick work of the weeds and larger stemmed growth and because it is lightweight (I am learning, in the past I would have purchased the heaviest sturdiest implement) I am not tired in the 80 to 90 degree heat. Next I cover the catchment area around the trunk with newspapers, at least 10 pages thick fully opened and overlapping. And then I use my bobcat to move wood chip mulch to the tree where I dump it and spread it over the newspapers with a shovel. Not hard work. The mulch will absorb water which would otherwise have penetrated the ground but it prevents weeds for a time and the water in the soil will not be stolen by weeds nor evaporate as much as without the mulch. It is a win win when I irrigate since the bubbler heads are below the mulch.
As I was moving my first load of mulch I noticed (there must have been a movement) a toad in the mulch.
I assume it was a toad not a frog since it satisfied the criteria:not near the water, bumpy skin, wider body, shorter legs and football eyes. Here he/she is:
The bobcat provides a bumpy ride so, on the way to the orchard, the toad became a little concerned and snuggled into the mulch. You can see the skin color and short squat legs clearly in the photo. He/she arrived safely at the destination and I hope will play a role in insect control.
