For me, one of the delights of gardening is that it forces you to spend such quality time with nature: it means that you see things you be unlikely to notice otherwise.
This weekend I needed to sieve some compost from one of my compost bins, so that I could enrich my flower beds. I lifted up the square of carpet that sits over the top and watched as the woodlice went into their blind panic and sprinted off for cover.
Then, digging down with the trowel, I realised (with a slight moment of alarm, I have to admit) that the compost was moving.
Snuggled a couple of inches down in the soft crumbly compost was a whopping great Toad.
Maybe it was my guilt kicking in, but I'd swear he seemed a bit narked at being disturbed,
Now you wouldn't think that Toads and Frogs were great climbers, but the top of the compost is some two feet up or more, and he had either burrowed up through the compost, or more likely hoisted himself up through the slats in quite a mountaineering feat.
My second garden surprise of the weekend was the number of Ruby Tiger caterpillars in amongst the Marjoram and Catmint, with their protective armour of starburst spines.
When I put my moth trap out, it's nice to find out which moths are passing by my garden, but it is even better knowing that some of my catch are 'home-bred'.
Glad to be of service, Wildlife Friendly! And I know your Toads have lovely sandy hideaways too, so I think you can afford your guilt to be minimal!
I found two toads in the garden today while I was rebuilding a wall. I felt a little guilty for destroying their home so I relocated them to a quiet, damp part of the garden where I know there is a plentiful supply of slugs.
Yesterday on Dartmoor I spotted a number of those caterpillars, I took a photo so I could ID them but you have now saved me that job.