Comments on: On Toads and Blaze http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/07/13/on-toads-and-blaze/ Red Hot Reads Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:19:17 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Nancy Warren http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/07/13/on-toads-and-blaze/#comment-3170 Nancy Warren Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:22:11 +0000 http://blazeauthors.com/blog/?p=1207#comment-3170 Hey, Sam, we were talking about the Kane toads, too. I guess they are a bit of a problem in Australia. We had a French woman with us and she teasingly asked one of the guys with a bucket full of toads how much they were a pound. Heather, I thought about kissing a few, just to see, but from the size they were I'm guessing I'd get a pint-sized prince at best. :-$ Sherry, where I live we also have Canada geese who have a habit of wandering across a busy road. It's fun to see the motorists patiently waiting while mom and baby geese take their sweet time crossing. I swear something unstuck in my plot, though, when I got home. You never can tell what will help fill that well. Hey, Sam, we were talking about the Kane toads, too. I guess they are a bit of a problem in Australia. We had a French woman with us and she teasingly asked one of the guys with a bucket full of toads how much they were a pound.

Heather, I thought about kissing a few, just to see, but from the size they were I’m guessing I’d get a pint-sized prince at best. :-$

Sherry, where I live we also have Canada geese who have a habit of wandering across a busy road. It’s fun to see the motorists patiently waiting while mom and baby geese take their sweet time crossing.

I swear something unstuck in my plot, though, when I got home. You never can tell what will help fill that well.

]]> By: Sherry Werth http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/07/13/on-toads-and-blaze/#comment-3168 Sherry Werth Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:23 +0000 http://blazeauthors.com/blog/?p=1207#comment-3168 I grew up in south GA and vividly remember having to sit un-patiently in the car waiting for a farmer to move his cows from one pasture to another pasture across the road. But I can honestly say I have never had to make a detour due to toad migration. (LOL) Love the post! I grew up in south GA and vividly remember having to sit un-patiently in the car waiting for a farmer to move his cows from one pasture to another pasture across the road. But I can honestly say I have never had to make a detour due to toad migration. (LOL) Love the post!

]]> By: Heather MacAllister http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/07/13/on-toads-and-blaze/#comment-3166 Heather MacAllister Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:02:11 +0000 http://blazeauthors.com/blog/?p=1207#comment-3166 People and toads . . . and possibly princes. But you'd have to kiss them to be sure. :-) People and toads . . . and possibly princes. But you’d have to kiss them to be sure. :-)

]]> By: Samantha Hunter http://blazeauthors.com/blog/2009/07/13/on-toads-and-blaze/#comment-3164 Samantha Hunter Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:10:09 +0000 http://blazeauthors.com/blog/?p=1207#comment-3164 LOL Nancy -- it may not be sexy, but I love your topic. I think it's great when communities make an effort to show kindness and consideration to small creatures. :) OTOH, if you ever want a good laugh (and maybe this is also a metaphor for writing) there's a documentary about kane toads in Australia, I can't remember the name of it, but it's so hysterical. Apparently Australia brought in the kane toads to fight off some other invasive creature (I saw this something like 6 years ago, so the memory is foggy on the details), and the toads took over, since they don't have a natural predator but for humans. These things are *everywhere* (though I don't know if they've done anything about it at this point). The best part of the documentary was this one guy who HATED the toads (I think they blinded his dog or something -- they can shoot out a poisonous goo when attacked), but all through the documentary they keep going back to his mission against the toads, and contrary to your story, there is this shot of the guy in his pick-up, winding down this lonely, foggy road, and all you hear is pop...pop...pop as he swerves all over the place trying to get them. I'm an animal lover, but it just had us laughing until we cried, mostly because this guy is just nuts. Writing wise, sometimes I feel like the kane toad, for sure... though I'm not quite sure who's driving the truck. LOL Sam LOL Nancy — it may not be sexy, but I love your topic. I think it’s great when communities make an effort to show kindness and consideration to small creatures. :)

OTOH, if you ever want a good laugh (and maybe this is also a metaphor for writing) there’s a documentary about kane toads in Australia, I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s so hysterical. Apparently Australia brought in the kane toads to fight off some other invasive creature (I saw this something like 6 years ago, so the memory is foggy on the details), and the toads took over, since they don’t have a natural predator but for humans. These things are *everywhere* (though I don’t know if they’ve done anything about it at this point).

The best part of the documentary was this one guy who HATED the toads (I think they blinded his dog or something — they can shoot out a poisonous goo when attacked), but all through the documentary they keep going back to his mission against the toads, and contrary to your story, there is this shot of the guy in his pick-up, winding down this lonely, foggy road, and all you hear is pop…pop…pop as he swerves all over the place trying to get them. I’m an animal lover, but it just had us laughing until we cried, mostly because this guy is just nuts.

Writing wise, sometimes I feel like the kane toad, for sure… though I’m not quite sure who’s driving the truck. LOL

Sam

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