Creek Expedition

Hunting in the Blake family takes on a different meaning than it does in most Michigan homes. While November 15th is practically a state holiday here, dad gets more excited when spring rolls around so we can go morel hunting. (Morels are mushrooms that also happen to be ridiculously hard to find.) In addition to being a mushroomer, dad is also an expert frog catcher.

Last night Dad, Lauren and I were hunting, not frogs, but larva in the creek for Lauren's painted turtle, Brotus. The crayfish pictured is a little too big for him to eat (as the turtle is about the size of a quarter), but he was a fun catch even though he was a little indignant about it. "Crayfish are easy to catch because they always go backwards," Lauren said. The strategy here is to simply place the net behind them and they'll back into it.