Of Toads and Psychics

Well, as I've mentioned, it's been a long time since I've written much of anything, and I am a bit rusty. But I thought I would share an entertaining account of the dramas that surrounded my lab over the weekend. Last Friday, I ran into Barry, one of our volunteers, while patrolling the botanic gardens. He mentioned how he hadn't seen the lab and our new acquisitions in many months, so I invited him back to check out the place. Once back, I gave him the tour, visiting with arthropods, reptiles, amphibians, and any other critters we may have...then it occurred to me, I hadn't shown him my pride and joy: the gigantic Colorado River toad! So we went over to her bin and I removed the top. To my chagrin, only her two smaller cagemates were present. Now, she's notorious for escaping, so I wasn't all that concerned, and Barry and I proceeded to search the lab in vain. We had a workman in the lab at the time, and he had been busy installing countertops for our new lab benches for the last two days. Once Barry left, he came over to me and told me that yesterday he and his coworker noticed the head of a frog sticking out of one of the many garbage bags piled up in the back of the lab, ready to go out to the incinerator. Apparently, they'd walked by it all day long, pondering whether it was alive or not, yet neither thought to say anything to me.

I ran back to the piles of garbage bags, under which I had already looked, and found a single bag that hadn't been secured tightly. The workman was certain it was the same as the one in which he had seen the toad. For as huge as our girl was, I couldn't imagine how she'd have gotten herself in that position, but I wasn't taking any chances. I tore open the bag and proceded to dig through mounds of drippy, rotting vegetables and unknown goop. I was a disgusting mess, and to no avail: the toad was nowhere to be seen. I scoured the lab some more, getting a bit nervous that maybe she had gotten out when the workmen were coming in and out of the lab. I looked around outside but found nothing. I dove into the trash bag again. Nothing. The workman was pretty upset about all this himself, though I assured him that she would turn up one way or another. Eventually, he took off, and I had to tell my boss Ralph about the situation. I just felt heartsick about it all, but he took it with his natural good nature. Sure it's not native to the immediate area, but it is a New Mexican species. Hmmm, that didn't make me feel much better...what if she were gravid and laid eggs?! If a male were somehow present, we'd be inundated by an essential invasive species!

I stayed late that night, doing a few more searches. In my gut, I didn't think she was actually outside. She would always turn up in the past, and hopefully this time wouldn't be any different. Before I left, Theresa and Kathleen, the mother/daughter team who are doing a roach experiment several times a week, arrived. Theresa says she is a psychic, and while I'm not sure if I entirely believe it or not, she has really gotten a number of things right, particularly when it comes to animals in the lab. I told them about the toad situation, and she immediately stated in her calm, unwavering voice, "She's in here. I know it." That calmed me a bit, though the skeptic in me wasn't entirely convinced. Still, searching was getting me nowhere, and I just needed to go home and hope for the best over the weekend.

I spent that weekend wondering about our toad, and hoping that she'd shown up. I hadn't heard anything either way from my coworkers, and I took that to mean she was still at large. I tried not to worry too much over the weekend, but it was often in the back of my mind.

Monday morning (today), I entered the lab and was horrified to find the incinerator bags had disappeared. All I could think of was that my dear toad would be burnt to a crisp! I did a quick search of some of her typical haunts when she gets out, to no avail. Then I went to the sink to rinse some dishes. I just happened to look down at one of our buckets under the sink, the one with water and a huge rock in it. The rock seemed bigger, and...oh my gosh!!!!! There was our fugitive toad, trying to hide from my view!! I immediately grabbed her and ran her in to my boss's office, showing her off, relieved. I'm not sure if he realized it or not, but during the duration of our excited conversation, she proceeded to expel water all over his floor (not to mention, down my arm...erg). Still, once you talk to Ralph, you're there for a while, so it can't be helped. :)

So that was today's adventure...it's always an adventure at my job! Some days, more than others! I'm just glad we got our mama toad back, and all is well in our fair lab. Til' next time!

Long Hiatus

Well, it's been an event-filled two years since last I posted here, but I have returned! Lots has gone on during this tumultuous time that I really didn't feel the need to share with the world, but my fingers are aching to write again. Stay tuned for more stories and adventures!