A few pictures

Our firebelly toads, Boy, Frog & Sissy. Don't blame me; the kids named them. Not sure if Sissy is actually a girl, but Boy really is a boy--he sings his little frog song and tries to...umm.... "hug" the other frogs. Poor things; we've been getting crickets from the bait shop instead of the pet store because 1. They're a lot cheaper! and 2. I don't have to drive an hour to get there. The only problem is that the bait shop only has BIG ONES. They're just about too big for the little frogs to get down their little mouths. Hopefully in a few more days we'll have our own baby crickets. They've (the crickets, not the frogs) been laying eggs like crazy. I hope they hatch OK.

A female golden silk spider and two of her boyfriends. She's not nearly as big as the one we had last year. I'm assuming she's the daughter of the one who lived by our shed last summer. She and her sister and their suitors live on the other side of the shed. Females are about 3 inches long and males only 1/2 inch. They can bite but usually don't, and when they do, it's much less

severe than a bee sting.

I think Benjamin may be part ostrich.

A lovely locust-y. This guy was about 3 1/2 inches long. The kids were *so* impressed with the "really big cricket" they found.

My water lilly finally bloomed. I didn't think it was going to this year. Worth the wait!!!