When you consider that our yard looked like this only a few short years ago:

And last year grew into this:

It is not so surprising that this 2nd year we have started to see some changes – like toads and chipmunks. It makes me so happy to see this little toad (below) living in the herb spiral. There were two of them there the other night and a really big one near the dry river bed.

Permaculture – to me – is the process of restoring an area to function again. I didn’t have to put toads in the garden.  Because of these small changes we have made – creating a garden that attracts slugs and other bugs, creating a place with shelter and moisture – it really was just a matter of time before the predator arrived…

 The cute little guys that will save our vegetables. 

They do the work naturally, and we don’t have to.

It’s magical.