The little toad eyed me warily as I worked. The spade had sliced the tranquility of its home, and it feared for the worst. Apologizing to the toad, I continued digging up roots from the Forsythia we cut down in August. Digging roots and disturbing toads wasn't part of the plan for today.
It started with my attention being drawn to a Calycanthus floridus 'Athens' sucker that was encroaching on the Aquilegias. The cloudy, cool weather was perfect for liberating that sucker from the mothership and replanting it elsewhere. When the new shrublet was pulled from the earth, a large clump of congested Narcissus 'Ice Follies' came with it. The daffodils needed to be divided anyway, so instead of just replanting them, I decided to add some to the area across from their current location, the former home of the recently removed forsythia.
After nestling the Calycanthus shrublet in its new home, I began to trowel holes for the daffodils. It quickly became apparent that the forsythia was not dead yet, and root removal was necessary before the bulbs could be installed. The job called for major spade work. The toad understood none of this.
It just maintained what it thought a safe distance, which got progressively closer to the house. I gave up, ceding the area to the toad. The bulbs will be planted another day.