Thought I’d run out of horned toad photos, eh? Not on your life! This young one is a little over an inch long. And see that dried sagebrush leaf? Note its size relative to the baby horny toad and then look at this shot, where you see an adult surrounded by scads of sagebrush leaves. By my quick reckoning, this shows the kid to be a little longer than the adult horned toad’s forearm. Whoa! Can you say small? I thought you could.
Sometimes they ride on a parent’s back. I once saw an adult with two babies. At my approach, the kiddies jumped off onto a couple of rocks, and their color changed instantly to match. It was the damnedest thing.
John Hamilton Farr lives at 7,000 feet in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. As New York Times best-selling author James C. Moore tells it, John is “a man attuned to the world who sees it differently than you and I and writes about it with a language and a vision of life that is impossible to ignore.” This JHFARR.COM site is the master writing archive. To email John, please see CONTACT INFO on .png)
You’ve found horny toads, and it rained in Texas. There’s just enough hope left.
Bunches of ’em! And it even rained here. What the hell is going on?
Beauty, John. It is always so good to be reminded of the miracle of life from child to adult. I see an ant and I marvel at its existence with the same reverence as my own species. Actually, the ant and every other species besides homo-sapien I regard as higher than us. We have let the most defective examples of our species rule the roost. I wish I knew how to change that. I no longer think we can. Apologies for being such a dishrag.
No apologies necessary! I understand about the ant. And I know where you’re coming from on all the rest. I’m not sure what the answer is. Maybe a new roost!
Farr, you’re just an old softie under that crusty exterior. I say, add the noble horny toad to your coat of arms!
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