Animals?

My mom sent me a picture of a cute little tree frog tucked into a big dahlia flower. I don't see any frogs around here, although I'm sure there are a few. It's just that most places, the ground absorbs the rain very quickly and leaves it dry. There are some marshy areas around with water lilies in them. Mostly I see toads hopping around. I was sitting with the night watchman one night and a toad hopped by. It was a normal sized toad, maybe 2 inches long, and he taught me the name in Frafra. I forget the name, but i remember that it meant toad-child, meaning that the one we saw was a little one. He showed me with his hands how big the big ones get, making a shape the size of a grapefruit. I'll keep my eyes open for one of those. I saw a really big spider 4" and some really big cockroaches 3" in my house, and there are ants all over, some pretty big and fast.

I don't see too many animals here, except farm animals. There is the occasional lizard scurrying around, but considerably fewer than in the southern part of the country. They like to climb trees, and we don't have as many trees here. Mostly I see birds. There are vultures, doves, some kind of crow, a big grackle type bird, and a handful of small multicolored bird species. There are also the occasional larger bird with a big curved bill, some kind of toucan or horn bill, I imagine. I have a bird book, and eventually I'll take the time to look them all up and make a list for you guys. I just haven't had the time for as many leisure activities here.

Doing well, getting by.
-Toby