We Thought You Was a Toad

Have you ever seen the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou"? It is the Coen brothers' take on Homer's "Odyssey". It's pretty funny. In one scene, the men are trying to communicate in whispers at the "picture show". One repeatedly tells another, "We thought you was a toad!" It's funny. You can see it here.

My husband has a job that sometimes requires the use of radios. One of his co-workers will wait until a quiet moment and drawl, "We...thought...you...was...a toad!" It's one of those things that's funny no matter how many times they do it. My husband laughs every time he thinks about it.

I was out on the ranch a few days ago and saw this:

It's a horned lizard, but we have always called them "horny toads". Obviously, it's not a toad, but guess what popped into my head as I snapped this shot.

"We...thought...you...was...a toad!"

Aplomado Falcons

These are young aplomado falcons. (Aplomado is Spanish for "dark grey".) They were bred in captivity in Idaho by The Peregrine Fund as part of their Aplomado Falcon Restoration Project. Local Peregrine Fund biologists drove to Idaho to get the falcons as well as several freezers full of quail to feed the birds.

A large group came to see the four birds that were going to be released on my parents' ranch.

The biologists built two hacks for the birds. The hack is a ten-foot square platform fifteen feet off the ground. A box for the birds is on the top. The biologists added mesquite branches as well.

The biologists, a photographer, and special guests climbed up on the platform. One by one, the birds were placed in the box. Two hack nest monitors will feed the birds and record data relating to the falcons.

After several days, the birds are released from the box. They learn to fly and begin to hunt, although the hack nest monitors will continue to provide quail for six weeks.

The four falcons shown here were later joined by four more at the other hack. Two more groups of birds will be released later this summer.

This has been an incredible experience for our family. Not many children have held an endangered species in their hands, but my boys have. They now have a better understanding of the need for us to be caretakers of the land, and it has given them a glimpse of one of the amazing wonders of God's creation.