5.17.2009

The Sometimes Underappreciated

As I have indicated in the past, I love the little things. Even if those things are ones that some might find less than lovable.

Snails fascinate me, but I am lousy at trying to ID them. Anyone know of a book or a website that might help quell my ignorance?
I can tell you that the little girl/guy was on a pawpaw leaf...

And then there are the spiders. I do love 'em. Great big hairy ones or little bitty shiny ones...it doesn't matter 'cause they are all cool. This is one of two wolf spiders that popped out of the mulch that another ranger and I were spreading in the butterfly garden. We had to take a moment to examine it -- my colleague is as crazy as I am!
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This was another of our finds, a very dark American toad. He was the same color as the soil of the area and fabulously warty. The other ranger, we'll call him Scranton from now on, spotted him just off the boardwalk and jumped down to scoop him up.
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And speaking of the boardwalk...I was out this morning listening to birds and frogs and such when I got a very pleasant surprize. Seems I was sharing the walkway with a nice big ole' bobcat. I don't know who was more startled, me or the cat! He jumped off the boardwalk before I could get my camera up and that's a shame. He was quite close.

6 comments:

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

Very nice blog here! I found you through Pure Florida.
I am a swamper myself, but I have to admit that I freak out every time I come into contact with a spider.

R.Powers said...

Gloves, yes, very thick gloves ... preferably on someone other than me who is holding the spider.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I'll go with the snail and the toad, but....

word verification: waddly

swamp4me said...

Welcome, Hurricane Teen! I often see your comments on FC's posts and I am delighted that you stopped by "my" swamp. I see you share Cracker's aversion to spiders.

FC,
Needless to say, you immediately came to mind when I first saw the spiders. We only had on gloves because we were moving cypress mulch ;) Wolf spiders are usually very nice and mild-mannered as long as you don't squeeze them.

Lynne,
Oh, come on...I know you are a very open-mined, nature-loving person. Spiders are very interesting critters -- really. I promise :)
(I felt rather waddly today - I think I'll use it as my word of the day.)

Sally said...

I'm with you, small beings are the best! (Except for the ID part)... I am okay with spiders, except in bed. House spiders are fine here, but it's better for them to be outdoors. The patented spider mover helps with that.

Nice place; I'll be back for a dose of wet now and then.

swamp4me said...

sally,
We are constantly scooping up spiders and putting them outside...with four indoor cats a spider doesn't have a chance around here!

I'm glad you stopped by and you are most welcome anytime.