Attracting Matt - What Does a Shallow Dish and a Hole in My Organic Garden Have to Do with Anything?

Being an avid organic Gardner, (which just drives my husband crazy. I won't allow him to use any chemicals at all in my garden - he does however sneak chemicals on the lawn when he thinks I won't notice.  Silly guy hasn't he learned that by now I notice everything?) I've been trying to find a solution to an over abundance of grasshoppers dining on my plants.

After a bit of research, I found two great options:
Chickens and Toads

My first choice would be to get me some chickens! We'd have fresh eggs, they're natural aerators (through their ground scratching), they LOVE to eat bugs, and they'd provide natural fertilizer to the yard.

I've been wanting chickens since we've moved out to the country.  However my husband, being a city guy, will have nothing to with farm animals on our land.  During my research, I thought that I'd finally found a solution to convince him that chickens were a great idea.  I learned that they not only eat grasshoppers, but spiders too!

Nope, no matter how much convincing and begging, he wasn't going to give in.

My second option is a toad!  A gnarly, healthy, knobby, rugged, local toad.  I knew that toads live just up in the foothills from us (about a mile away), because I see them when ever I run at dusk.  Now a toad isn't a farm animal.  Who is my husband to say anything about a local toad moving in.

Now to research toad attraction to my garden - who by the way don't eat your veggies like the chickens will.

I found that toads like to burrow in cool, damp, shady spots. Now here's the thing, our yard isn't old enough to provide lots of damp shady spots for them to burrow in and live.

Imagination, here's your cue! So I call upon my imagination and figure how to create a toad pent-house haven (let me tell you, if I were a toad, I'd totally live here!)

I got a large shallow terracotta tray, built a shallow hole under it, and placed it near my ornamental grasses growing next to my garden.  I then created a 'rain fall' from our irrigation pipes that'd fill the shallow dish and keep the ground wet around it.  Perfect!

Once I finished the toads pent-house, I thought, and felt (very important step here), what it would be like to walk out to my garden and find  all my vegetables in pristine condition.  The leaves and veggies would be untouched by those jumping flying grasshoppers.  I felt what it would be like to walk around and not flinch when an unexpected large flying grasshopper jumps out at me - they still startled me even after almost 40 years.  Ahh what a great addition this toad would make to my organic garden.

Then I let it be.

I would imagine a toad living under that tray, and think about how exciting it would be to one day find him in my garden happily gorging himself on grasshoppers.  


Then I'd let it be - not worry, not stress, not obsess. 

I even let the nasty growth that builds on the bottom of the tray stay (my dogs love getting a drink out of it - so gross).

To my husband, I've become a bit crazy.  Preparing, setting up and feeling what it would be like to have a garden toad, before we EVEN have a garden toad. I kept just telling him, and my daughter, that a toad will come, I know it. I've sent it out to the universe, and I'm letting the universe figure out 'the how' a toad will make it's way to this upscale toad house.

A couple of weeks later,  I was over at a friends house, when a teenage boy thought he would try to scare a few of us gals by shoving this extremely large (about the size of a dinner plate) toad in our face and yelling 'blahh' at the same time.

I quickly jumped up, not in grossness, but in excitement.  I grabbed the toad out of the kids possession, and almost kissed it.  I did refrain from kissing it, only because it would confirm the belief of many that I may be off my rocker a bit.  (BTW I rock on my rocker!)

The owner of the house, Matt, piped up, "Yeah I've got several of these toads around the yard, however this one hangs out on my driveway every night."  That was my cue.

To my husband's dismay, we drove home with a toad!

A toad named Matt.

Here's a close-up of Matt

Here I am showing Matt his
 toad pent-house

By the time we got home, it was late at night.  My daughter and I step into the darkness of the garden, and quickly show Matt his new home.  We let him loose and watched him hop away in the darkness. We stood there for a moment and let the feeling of being wild toad owners wash over us. (How cool is that!)

While working in my garden during the day, I try not to lift and look for Matt in the toad pent-house, especially since they are crepuscular animals (out during dusk and dawn). I'm just letting, not obsessing, over Matt. He is a wild local type of toad after all.

I just let him be, let him be him, and do his thing.

The other night, my neighbor tells my husband that he saw this really large toad in his rocks.   He couldn't believe how big it was.  I knew he saw  Matt.



I sure hope he returns, cause I know of a great toad pent-house in the garden next door!

Brilliant Ideas, Fireworks, and Rattlesnakes!

July, 4th, America's birthday.  A day spent with family, friends, and watching fireworks amongst strangers sprawled out under the night sky with a blanket claiming your spot, and another blanket claiming another family's next to you, and then another, and another, and another, and so forth.  As you turn and look in all four directions of your blanket, you realize you are surrounded by a sea of blankets - and you can't get out!

To battle against this elbow to elbow sea of blankets, we decided to hike up to Half Moon Rock and watch the fireworks.   It'd be perfect!  We'd have the best view around.  We'd have the entire valley before us, we would see firework displays from Farmington to Pleasant View to West Haven, as well illegal ones too. Best of all, we'd be the only ones around - bonus!


We began our hike at dusk. The weather was just about perfect. The sun's rays weren't beating down, heating the trail as well as our bodies, a steady whispering wind attempted to keep us cool, there was just enough light at this point that we didn't need our headlamps. Ahh it's a magical time of day.

In our sweat induced exhaustion we'd stop every few steps to catch a glimpse of the valley below us. Then one of us would try to convince the others that this resting spot would be perfect, there's no need to go further up.  However, we knew that the view awaiting us would be unbelievable from atop the jutted rock.

We continue on the double wide trail until we reach the bottom of Half Moon Rock.  In order to get on top of Half Moon Rock, one needs to climb the steeper (I swear it's 90 degrees straight up) single trek trail that is rutted with loose slippery stone.  You have to decide to climb in the slippery stone rut with it's multiple roots to help you, or you take the top of the rut where there's no roots to help you get your footing as well as no rocks to take you on a ride right back down!  We decided to take the rut, it looked to be easier in allowing us to start and stop as many times as we'd need to.

Super Shep, that's our dog, is leading the way right up the side of the rock.  I'm right behind him, followed by my husband, and then our daughter (who is such a champ to keep going when it's late and her legs hurt).  I'm slowly placing one heavy lead filled foot in front of the other, when I swear on my mother's grave, Shep stands up on his back two paws and jumps backwards and is standing next to me!

In astonishment, I look up to see what's going on with Shep (I think he may have still been on his two hind paws).  What do I see about 5 feet right in front of me!  The BIGGEST rattle snake (partially coiled up and shaking his rattler in anger) that I've ever encountered in the wild!  I grab Shep, who may have finally got back down on all 4 paws, and quickly walk away backwards.  Now mind you this isn't the type of trail that you could go down backwards, but somehow I did.  As I'm magically stepping backwards, I'm loudly cautioning - 'Rattler straight ahead!'

At this advantage point we are about 20 feet away.
Notice the snake on the right of the trail.
Take a look at the slick ravine in the middle - that'll be important later.

My brave girl, in disbelief, stops dead in her track. Then her nature loving inquiry takes over as she moves forward a bit to take a closer look. For fear of her turning into rattler food , my husband and I sternly tell her go back where she was.

The various other times that I've ran into a rattler, they usually move along once they know they aren't in danger. Then I'm able to also move along when I know I'm no longer in danger as well. It's nature's win -win.

We wait for the giant rattler to move along so we could pass and take our position on top of the rock. Nope, not a chance. This huge sucker just freakin laid there like, 'this is my trail - go get your own'. We waited for a few minutes longer hoping he'd change his mind - nope he's still claiming it.

Here's the same view point, just a close up of the HUGE snake

In my brilliance, I thought I'd try to startle the rattler back off of the trail. I started to throw small rocks close to it to get it move away. Nope didn't faze him, he didn't even slither his tongue at us. I then decided that those rocks must've been too small, so I got me some bigger ones to throw close to him. Still didn't bother him! Well if one rock doesn't do the trick, then more rocks that land in the bushes next to him otta work (see how close those buses are)! I then grabbed three big rocks, and threw them into the bushes right next to him - Yep that did it!

Suddenly, without any warning this huge ass snake is slipping down the slippery rocks in the ravine - and he's ANGRY! He's shaking his rattler, and on a collision course with Super Shep and I.  I see the snake slipping out of control, over rocks, bringing a rock slide of rocks with him (check out the ravine on the 1st pic). He can't get a grip onto anything, which just makes him madder, and boy is he BIG!

I scream, "He's coming down - go!"

Super Shep takes to running like he's full of grace and can maneuver over and around anything. [Have I mentioned this dog quite often misses steps at home, falls on his face, or runs into the wall full force? It's rather entertaining to watch!] Shep, in his new found grace, leaves me in the dust as if to say, 'hehe you're gonna be snake food, not me'!

Super Shep maneuvers his way right to down to Ireland.  In her fear, she grabs a hold of him - and off they go!  In super flash speed and grace, Super Shep whisks her down the steep slope.  If I were a bettin gal, which I am, I'd bet you all that Super Shep carried Ireland saddle style down on his back to safety!

Here we are, in safety, with Super
Shep peeking between us as we
wait for the fireworks to start.

Once down the steep hill, we decided, unanimously, that one of those nice flat spots we saw earlier down the trail would be just perfect to watch the fireworks from.

Just in case you were wondering, we all made it back home, including Super Shep with out being bitten!  Here's some great pics of the valley and the fireworks that we saw.

What a view!
This pic is of North Ogden's fireworks

In retrospect, I think next time I run into a rattler on top of a slide, or steep slope, I'm not gonna  throw rocks at it when I'm waiting at the bottom. I think I'll just let him have the slide. :)

This pic is cool cause you can see
two different cities' fireworks
at the same time

This is the very next shot where
both cities are on display

Dimple Super Powers - And How my Dog, Allie, Taught Me Love

Dimples, oh don't we love dimples, especially on babies when they first learn to smile! Dimples, whether on the cheeks, or the chin come with their own super powers of cuteness, attraction, and persuasion. Oh how lucky are those that have the dimple super powers.

Then there's others that have been blessed with dimples, however not where we'd expect! Some have them in places we'd rather not, like our butt, legs, calf, oh hell just about anywhere else except our face.

I'm one of these lucky ones who has been blessed with an excess of dimples, not on the cheeks of my face, rather on the cheeks of my behind! Up until a few days ago, I would just curse at my self everytime I looked at my dimples in the mirror. I would curse the genetic dice game that gave me such noticible, indents in my hind side. 


I've even tried the many different lotions and creams that pormise smooth looking skin and the disaperance of those dimples.  I'd spend my hard earned money on those expensive miracle creams.  I'd then spend hours massaging that cream in circular motions until my behind looked like a macaque monkey's - bright red! When the bottle was gone, I'd start comparing the indents, checking to see if they're gone.  Each time I must confess the dimple was still there, taunting me with it's craterlike looks.

I remember one day about 8 years or so ago, I went into work in what I thought, was a nice summer outfit, with bottoms that were daisy petal white in color. I'd worn this outfit several times before, enjoying what I thought was a 'classy' outfit. On this particular day, a co-worker 'jokingly' commented to no one in particular, but loud enough for the entire small office to hear.   'If you choose to wear white bottoms to work, you should make sure your hindside is smooth or find a liner to hide the butt dimples.'

I was so mortified! I couldn't believe I've been wearing these pants, and my dimply behind created a crater looking backside for everyone to see. I was so paranoid that I avoided walking for the rest of the day in fear of someone else seeing my cratered behind. When work finally ended, I made sure to be the last one to leave.  As soon as I got home, I ripped off those pants and gave them to goodwill (I may have even stopped by goodwill on the way home, thus driving home in my skives).

I've had this blessing now for my entire life, and I've let it hold me back. I've let, Sheila, my mean spirited taunting, judgemental, critical, gremlin run this part of my body's self esteem and self love. To avoid Sheila's critical comments, I would avoid looking at my 'cheeks' so I wouldn't have to hear her cruel words about how 'fat, ugly, unattractive, unloved, out of shape, or lazy I was.

Oh how Sheila's words have caused me to loathe myself. I've allowed her to make me feel all of these unworthy feelings about myself. I've let her take so much control over my thoughts about my dimples, that I have actually let it get in the way of having a good time. Whether it be a romp in the bedroom, the wearing of short shorts, or a swim with my daughter.  I've allowed Sheila to keep me small and hidden.

Not anymore! Those days are over Sheila! Start packing your bags!

Through the work of Andrea Owen and Amy Smith of The Self Love Revolution (check them out they're GREAT), I am learning to put Sheila back in her box, manage her when she tries to leave, and quit letting her words run my life. The other day, when Andrea and Amy were interviewing Julie Parker, she brought up a tool or idea to help turn around our self body image thoughts. She said our inner thoughts should be from our dog's point of view (or best friend - but it was the dog portion that got my ears perked up)!

Now, here's something for me to mull over - How would my dog, Allie, talk to me about my dimples?

First and foremost, she wouldn't even notice! If she did notice, they'd say something like, "Oh, I love the dimples girl - now lets go play!"

Then she'd continue on in her excited, focused happy Allie voice while dropping her ball at my feet, "Here's my ball, just roll it back to me - that's all you have to do! Oh you're just the BEST human ever, look at you smile at me when I bring the ball back. Oh that makes me happy, see my tail wagging wildly. I love to see you smile and happy.  Here's the ball back, now throw it. Come on... PLEASE....."

My dog, Allie, who is the BEST dog on the planet (just ask either myself or her) is the best 'person' for me to learn how to change the tone of my inner voice. To quit critizing what I can't control, to be kind, patient, loving, and accepting - just like I would of her or a friend. Allie who is always happy, excited, and focusing on more important things like; my smile, or that inner glow that radiates through my eyes, and of course the ball.

Allie playing in the snow after a visit
to the Deaf and Blind School

Yes, my darling dimples. I love you - you are what makes me, me. Now let's pick up that ball, go outside and make Alllie's day!