Erik Eisele: Night drives and frog dances

Toads are reckless creatures. Every spring, when warm days come paired with soaking rains, they emerge, stir crazy after winter. They hop out onto the road, soaking in the warmth of the blacktop paired with the glistening steam of night rain.

They were out this past week. Thursday, when the sun burned like summer. It warmed the pavement, baking it until the air above it rose in shimmers. Then night fell, and the thunderstorms came. The blacktop, still hot from the day, sizzled with each drop of rain. It was a summer sound, and a calling. Toads everywhere came out, hopping their way to the pavement, drawn by the warmth and the wet and the heavy air.