Rusty Crayfish

If you take the time to get out there.....nature never disappoints. What appears to be a dull drizzly day can come alive with so much beauty your heart will skip beats.  Today was in the low 70s and humid, we had a lot of rain last night and it continued to lightly sprinkle all day long. I decided to take Monty up to the Park for a quick walk around and a swim.  I was rewarded big time! The first thing I came upon was a baby snapping turtle crossing the road. He was beyond adorable. I'm glad I saw him because immediately 2 cars came and he would have been hit. Next up were two very large N. Watersnakes and a Rusty Crayfish. I'd only seen a dead red crayfish, just last week, and thought it was just some freak of nature. I had no idea that they were a invasive species until I looked them up.  They are easily 4 times the size of our native crayfish and bright red. Fisherman use the little ones as bait and also science companies sell them to schools to keep as class pets to observe, people end up dumping them in lakes and rivers.  This guy was hanging out on top of one of the watersnakes on land, and the snake didn't seem to care at all! Such a crazy sighting. He could see me from really far away and started to react right away, threatening me with his claws.  Next as I was picking myself a nice handful of Blackberries my eyes suddenly came upon a very large Black and Yellow Garden Spider, and another, and another, 5 total all very close together.  Just stunning nestled in with the beautiful flowers and milkweed.  

Tonight I stepped outside to catch sight of the last of the fireflies, and only one bat. I started thinking about the date....it's time to see Nighthawks migrating.  I must force myself outside as often as possible.  Migration is in full force.  Life is good.