I want to be stalked.

It might sound like a strange request, but after I tell you about the gifts that I received last week, you will better understand this desire.

There was a time when the tooth fairy was a favorite sprite that magically provided welcome presents. Last week, I was surprised by not only one, but two fairies — asparagus fairies — that came bearing stringy, dirt-covered offerings.

Water striders always come out on top.

They also stay on top! Water striders are those zippy, semi-aquatic insects that seem to magically skate along the surface of ponds, streams and other slow-moving waters. These above-water acrobats never plunge into the water or become submerged; they live on, not under, the surface of the water through their entire adult lives.

April showers bring May flowers and also, perhaps, a torrent of toads!

The wet weather could inspire more than just the ducks. The large amount of rain last week was plentiful enough to bring out spadefoot toads. Spadefoot toads need at least two inches of rain and a drop in barometric pressure before they are persuaded to venture out of their comfy underground burrows.

Peat and re-peat.

This spring, many gardeners will be doing just that to prepare their garden beds and landscaped areas for the season. However, one might want to ask whether this treatment is advantageous or even necessary.

I brought a package of the ubiquitous, plastic-wrapped square of peat last weekend to add to my garden. In retrospect and after a bit of research, it appears that I might not have needed it.

What is so romantic about rodents?

In the case of muskrats, there is clearly something that inspired songsters Captain and Tennille in the mid-1970s: who doesn’t remember the refrain?

“And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed

Singin’ and jingin’ a jango 

Floatin’ like the heavens above

It looks like muskrat love.”

It was definitely a favorite for this muskrat (and Captain and Tennille) fan.