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Friday, February 5, 2021

Dear Toad

I ran an errand yesterday, and on the way home there was enough snow gone to reveal the sad condition of Mr. Toad. I cannot fix it and won't replace it. In fact, I'll celebrate its wasting away, like all of us.


Enlarge the picture and you can see how toads of this sort are made. It seems to be a core; its good looks made and applied subsequently. Rather like people.  Toad has pleased me all these years, and what is left will continue to please me.

And were I a better "keeper", I would have sealed it when it came into my life thirty years ago. But thirty years ago I did not know how to care for little outdoor creatures made of cement. And now I could find out, but it is too late to begin for Toad, and I have no intention of having another Toad that I cannot outlive.

Heavy philosophy, there. And I set out to write about something silly, that makes me happy every time I look at it.


Every time I have a new towel picture to post, I get to pass the picture of this towel in Belize. Its drape is as casual as its shirt neighbor. The sheet tries the same look, celebrating the day, the sky, the breeze. When I pass, I smile.

I wondered if I could replicate the look. I have the new lime towels on the shelf, I'm pretty resourceful. I clipped the towel to a blind, attempted to arrange it artistically, and took a picture. Actually, I took several.


And now I smile for a whole nother reason. Can't make it happen without blue sky, breeze, sunshine, a lovely summer day.

So, I'll go weave some more and listen to a storm blowing up.


30 comments:

  1. Mr Toad seems to be symbolic of all our lives. Even when bits fall off and no longer work we still carry on surviving.

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  2. We have a cement frog. So far he is doing well and I think he has a few more years in him, but we do bring him into the garage each fall. Perhaps that's the secret of his longevity. But he is only about fifteen years old - a mere youngster as concrete frogs go. Especially when I think of all those gargoyles on 400 year old buildings in Europe.

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  3. Though cracked and broken, toad will carry on, and do what he has always done, please you.

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  4. I would say that Mr. Toad had a good, long life. I've had terra cotta and cement pots crack in the cold and that's here in Florida.
    The new clothespins and a bag to keep them in arrived today at the post office. I am so excited for the next nice day to hang clothes.
    I just realized how incredibly sad that sounds. Oh well. This is my life. New clothespins bring joy.

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  5. Mr. Toad is a lucky one and I'm sure he appreciates your loyalty and love.

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  6. I have a plaster kitty who biodegraded in similar fashion to Mr. Toad. I too should have coated the outside but didn't.
    Thanks for the kind words about my doodle. Yes, I will post more. This probably will be a second or third time.

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  7. Hey, Toad lasted 30 years -- that's damn good!

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  8. Toad lasted very, very well. Quietly. Stoically. Which isn't a bad epitaph.

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  9. You could save Toad and I could tell you how to do it, but you have to ask yourself - is that what he would really want? To spend the rest of his days of fragility sheltered from the elements that he so enjoyed on your porch, without ever feeling again the warmth of the sun or the brush of the snow against his concrete warts? Maybe just let him return to the earth.

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  10. Hari OM
    I am honoured with the memory of touching toad's nose... ever a prince! And your towels do drape beautifully - I have one draped just as much for decor as utility &*> YAM xx

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  11. That green moss/forest/ meadow color is deeee-vine!

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  12. Like all of us, Toad had a cycle of life and is on the downward swing. I love that towel. It's overwhelming how many beautiful colors you have. I'm having difficulty choosing my favorite(s).

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  13. How about a bit of epoxy to mend toad? 30 years is a good run. My garden dragon took a tumble when my dog bumped him. His ear chipped and a crack appeared across his face. The epoxy worked well but not fully to my satisfaction. Next I took black paint and gave him a good once over. Dragon has been re-invented. Imperfections concealed. Nobody knows, except you and me...

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  14. You remind me that it's time to wash the yard art and reapply sunscreen. They're painted, and the UV will dull the paint.

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  15. Here lies Mr. Toad, resting in pieces, sweet amphibian, faithful to the end.

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  16. Sadly, I don't see "Toad" anymore, just a crumbling rock. I have a concrete angel that is just beginning to weather and plan to paint her before she crumbles. She is currently living inside my back porch.

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  17. Time, blunt thou the lion's paws. Quotation that seems appropriate to celebrate Toad.

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  18. Poor toad. But he was your faithful companion for years. I enjoyed seeing the sunshine in Belize through your photo.

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  19. Your towels are so beautiful, and yes, one really needs a stiff breeze and a pristine blue sky for maximum gorgeousness. Honestly, I couldn't tell what Toad was, even though I blew the picture up really big, and even though you called it Toad. I mean, what was my first clue? Can you not fix Toad up a little bit? Seems a shame to lose him after all these years. Some lipstick and polish perhaps? Dip him in varnish, and magic marker a happy face on his wee gub? Maybe put him on one of those toad makeover shows? Like Toad, we may be old and decrepit but it's nothing a bit of blush and mascara can't fix!

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  20. I don't know whether you know Kintsugi, Joanne - it is a Japanese art & philosophy: they restaurate broken pieces, by adding for example gold between the shards, thus accentuating that it was broken, yes, but worth to keep. I do not say you should add gold to toad - but maybe fix it with a little bit of cement and colour the mended crack with gold-colour?

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  21. Toad is ageing perfectly. We have a china duck in the garden whose head is always being knocked off but a bit of glue puts him to right.

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  22. There's something about laundry hanging on a line. One sees it very seldom now.

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  23. Darling Joanne,

    Not that you are asking for advice, but we should definitely leave Mr Toad exactly as he is.

    Chipped and faded are two words that can apply to most of our things, our lives and, quite possibly, ourselves. These 'blemishes', if indeed they are, are the marks of lives lived to the full. Of 'things' being used rather than sitting pristine but gathering dust in a cabinet of curiosities.

    Your Toad has all the marks of a long and happy life snoozing in the sun on the porch. Of course, the harsh winters have taken their toll, but it was ever thus. He makes us smile too.

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  24. we all crack around the edges as we age, toad is no exception. my naked lady broke in half but I glued her back together.

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  25. The important thing is - you'll always see Mr. Toad as he was when he come to you. We all look like a bit of cement as time go on.

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  26. You are such a poet Joanne! I love the analogy of the toad and replicating something you couldn't.

    Inspiring indeed.

    XO
    WWW

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  27. I cannot wait to look at our table again. I will take a picture for you.

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  28. Dear Toad -- he gave his all. ;) And your towels are lovely, and such a comfortable feel to them. Hugs to you...

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