Spade-Foot?

It's not easy identifying amphibians and reptiles, but Highlands Golf is home to many many interesting critters.  Two water ponds, dense landscaped areas with deciduous and coniferous trees and shrubs too numerous to count, and several open wooden shelters provide an environment for both heat--and moisture--loving critters. 

This photo on the patio under the shelter of the roof may indeed be a Great Basin Spade Foot, a threatened species in the Okanagan area of B.C.

Not threatened here though.

Several days ago, the frog (or a sibling) was found resting between several of the lightweight carrybags available to golfers.  The sharp-eyed golfer gingerly placed him in the shade of several potted plants prior to loading her golfclubs into the bag.

When our daughter was young, a lone little frog frequented the swimming pool and would swim back and forth with our daughter...wish I had thought to photograph those events.  Day after day he would be there at the gazebo beside the pool, as though waiting for our daughter to arrive home from school and jump into the pool for a swim.

Over the years we've discovered lovely little black and green striped salamanders inside valve boxes all over the golf course, numerous gopher snakes, and a real prize...a rubber boa.

My photo wasn't found on my Flickr photo account; this photo is an Internet image.

Two hundred goldfish (from four original fish placed into the large irrigation pond in 2001) have now dwindled to about 50, compliments of frequent visits by two Osprey and one Great Blue Heron.

During summer, brightly-coloured Orioles raise their young in numerous nests--resembling socks flung into tree branches--in deciduous and evergreen trees.  Great horned owls feast on copious quantities of mice, but haven't put much of a dent into the population of year-round resident Quail.  The rat-a-tat sounds of Flickers echo between buildings at dawn.

Wildlife here is protected as we have no cats, despite neighbours' felines ignoring fencelines.

The really interesting facet of wildlife at Highlands Golf is that very few species were ever found while the property contained 1,053 apple tree, likely a result of frequent chemical sprays that were required to keep the apple crop marketable, and the trees on which they grew, healthy.

We're looking forward to seeing the amazement in our young grandson's eyes as we point out these living treasures on our land.

"I keep the felines a-runnin', that's my job," grins Kia.

But Kia never touches anything else...neighbourhood cats keep her very busy.

Attagirl!