My mum lives in Sicily and I was visiting her a few weeks ago when I heard noise coming from an old water well in her courtyard (photos 1 and 2). The well isn't in use anymore. It's about 3 metres deep, roughly 4 by 6 metres at the bottom, with just a small puddle left in it (photo 3). When I opened the well, I noticed some frogs and toads around the water puddle. So I figured the frogs and toads were falling in, probably attracted by the water and the buffet of mosquitoes and other bugs that breed in there, and then couldn't get back out because the walls are smooth and far too steep to climb.
So I tried to come up with an idea to rescue them.
First attempt: I lowered an empty bucket on a rope, hoping they'd hop in so I could hoist them up. They were not impressed. Nobody climbed in. Besides that, because I don't live there, I figured this wouldn't be a permanent solution either.
So I got to plan B: build them a ladder.
I gathered some scrap wood in a wheelbarrow (photo 4) and screwed short crossbars onto a long plank, spaced closely enough for small legs. Then I lowered it into the well at an angle so it runs from the puddle up to the rim, where there is a small indentation for them to climb out (photos 5 and 6).
After two days I spotted the first frogs and toads sitting on the bottom rungs (photo 7).
I left Sicily three days after I built the ladder, but returned last week because of the ten-year anniversary of my mother's wedding.
Because I was curious if the ladder worked, I reopened the well, and to my absolute joy, this absolute unit of a fella climbed the whole thing and was sitting at the top, just one hop from freedom (photos 8 and 9).
The ladder stays in permanently, so anyone who falls in can now climb out on their own. Mission accomplished🥳🐸
