Last week, in Biology class we walked outside and took pictures of nature for iNaturalist. We stepped outside into the hot Arizona heat, as the sun beat down on our faces. As we walked out onto the hard pavement our eyes were greeted with a bright glow of the sun. As we squinted our eyes and face to adjust to the hot Arizona climate, we encountered wildlife. We heard little crackles in the bushes as little lizards paced back and forth in and out of the bushes. We proceeded to walk and found little branches that broke off trees. I picked one up and felt the hard bark, and thick branch. I ran my fingers up the branch as some of the leaves fell off onto the dry dirt. As I dropped the branch my friends and I counted to walk. We found our way to the other side of the school and smelled gasoline as a quick car rolled bye. Its tires scratched across the pavement as the smell of gasoline and burning rubber filled my nose. I almost tasted it as the smell crept through my nose and into my mouth, giving the smell a flavor. We walked into the grass fields and the sun’s heat was making me sweat. We walked until we found a box with a big desert toad in there. We also found tiny eggs that were adjacent to it. The frog was big and dark-ish green as the eggs were more of a pale white. There were three eggs, the size of a fingernail. As the toad was probably the size of my foot. We closed the box which had these animals inside, to ensure they were safe from the summer heat. As our teacher called us to come inside, we said goodbye to our wildlife friends, and scurried back to campus. As everyone gathered at the front of the school ready to go inside. We encountered the same toad hopping right next to us. Like it was waving goodbye as well. We all smiled and walked inside as that concluded our adventure.

While I was coming back home, from dinner one night I spotted something rustling in the bushes. I brushed it off due to the fact that I was exhausted and just wanted to jump into my nice, cool bed. But curiosity took the better of me as I halted to a stop. As I stopped walking, the bushes shook, and a mellow sound radiated from it. The sound echoed through the night as if it expanded into the air. I began to approach the sound, while also keeping my distance. Making sure I was not walking up on something that could hurt me. As I got closer and closer the noise ceased and I felt a sense of fear spike over me. I bent down to see what I had just encountered. There it was, a big Toad basking in the moonlight. I breathed a sigh of relief as it was not a snake or something potentially dangerous. As I admired the Toad for a couple more seconds seeing its rough skin, and dark eyes, my exhaustion found its way back to me, and I decided to head back and say bye to my new friend. As I trodded back to my room, a new feeling came over me and the feeling of tiredness flew out the window.
As I entered the room I cracked open my laptop. I began researching and found out a lot of new things about the common Toad. I found that the Toad gets confused with the common frog and they have a lot in common but a lot of differences. I found that the toad has dry, rough skin. They eat crickets, worms, insects and spiders. They live in marshes and ponds. Mainly places with some grass and a lot of water. Their legs are very small and thick, made for jumping. Their main predators are snakes, birds, and hawks. As I got tired from scrolling through pages of information about Toads, and my body pleaded with me for some sleep, I decided to call it a night and jumped in my bed. I laid down, my head resting on the pillow, as my eyes drifted off. I began to think about my new little friend, and a weary smile came across my face. As memories of happiness and curiosity, found its way into my dreams.

References
Amazing Facts about Frogs. (n.d.). OneKindPlanet. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://onekindplanet.org/animal/frog/
Klappenbach, L. (2019, February 22). Top 10 Facts About Frogs. ThoughtCo. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/top-facts-about-frogs-130091
Tukua, D. (n.d.). 15 Fascinating Facts About Frogs You Probably Didn't Know. Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.farmersalmanac.com/frog-facts