Eric and I met this little toad while hiking at Breakneck Ridge last weekend. You know that saying about mountain weather - "If you don't like it, just wait fifteen minutes"? The same goes for the Hudson Valley. It was cloudy when we started our scramble up the rocks and by the time we hit the peak, it was in full monsoon mode. I mean pouring, torrential rain and gusting wind. I was soaked through. And an hour later while we were getting ourselves terribly misguided in the descent, it turned into a lovely golden afternoon. I learned some interesting things about the area - the KKK is in them thar hills, this season is going to be filthy with gypsy moth caterpillars, and Friendly's makes a mean sundae if you can put up with the screaming three year old at the booth across the way. Oh, and now I definitely know what I'm doing this summer.