A misplaced crawfish
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As you learned last time, more than 5 inches of rain from October 30th into the 31st had caused the creek that passes through Great Hills park to overflow its banks and temporarily turn what is normally a trail into a shallow creek of its own. The flood had carried with it this crawfish, which now found itself at least 100 ft. from its former home. Whether it ever made its way back to the real creek, I don’t know.
Yesterday I quoted the ditty that had popped into my head when I saw worms wriggling in the unaccustomed water:
Wormlets and squirmlets
But surely not omelets.
I haven’t heard of people in the United States eating worms, but in the South it’s common for folks to eat crawfish, and you can easily find recipes for crawfish omelets.
© 2013 Steven Schwartzman
What, no crawfish escort service? The transportation kind, not that other one.
Steve Gingold
November 19, 2013 at 6:19 AM
You get today’s award for novelty. A Google search for the exact phrase “crawfish escort service” turned up not a single hit. You should run right out and register the phrase as a trademark or service mark.
As for the crawfish in the picture, I never thought about returning it to the creek. Maybe I should have.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 7:01 AM
Ah, my Warhol moment.
Steve Gingold
November 19, 2013 at 7:10 AM
You made your comment at 6:19 and we’re still talking about it at 7:27, so you’re getting more than your 15 minutes of fame.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 7:28 AM
Earth worms and mud bugs – what’s not to like? You can go fishing and have some gumbo when you get back.
I was surprised to see crawfish holes on Nash Prairie. There’s an old meander that makes its way through the land. It had been days since rain when I was there, but the ground still was soft and occasionally squishy, and there they were.
shoreacres
November 19, 2013 at 7:03 AM
Like you, I’m surprised that there were crawfish holes on the Nash Prairie. I’ll bet a good observer of nature will turn up lots of “misplaced” things.
Not having heard the term mudbug, a did a search, and from the Wikipedia article at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayfish
I learned that the study of crayfish is called astacology. That in turn reminded me of the pet dog named Asta in the old “The Thin Man” movies from the 1930s. In following that up, I learned that the same dog appeared in the great screwball comedy “Bringing Up Baby.” That’s pretty far afield from this post, so I’d better stop now.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 7:23 AM
I found one of the ‘mud bugs’ in my lawn recently, and I am nowhere near water! Hm…
Lynda
November 23, 2013 at 11:34 AM
That makes me think that maybe they’re not as dependent on water as I thought—or at the least that they can stay away from water for a while.
Steve Schwartzman
November 23, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnKOVPXhlnE
Jim in IA
November 19, 2013 at 7:11 AM
I remember that Hank Williams song from when I was a child in the 1950s. In the Wikipedia article at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambalaya_%28On_the_Bayou%29
I learned that the melody was based on the Cajun song “Grand Texas,” which I hadn’t heard of, but which is appropriate for a blog from Austin. And so things come full circle.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 7:26 AM
[…] A misplaced crawfish. […]
A misplaced crawfish | WordVerseUniverse
November 19, 2013 at 7:27 AM
I would have returned this fellow. When I can, I return misplaced critters simply because I can; otherwise it’s Madame Fate!
M. Firpi
November 19, 2013 at 5:45 PM
I’m afraid Madame Fate may have gotten this crawfish.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 11:43 PM
omg. how cool.
sedge808
November 19, 2013 at 6:57 PM
The crawfish seems to be looking up at me, but I don’t know if that was true.
Steve Schwartzman
November 19, 2013 at 11:44 PM
Actually, it just occurred to me that eating worms was part of my childhood. Not literally, but in the words of this whiny little verse that we’d use to tease one another:
Nobody loves me, everybody hates me –
Gonna go out and eat worms…
This often was said to a pouting child.
shoreacres
November 19, 2013 at 9:43 PM
Those lines weren’t among the nursery rhymes or children’s ditties I grew up with in New York. Here’s what I found online:
http://bussongs.com/songs/nobody-likes-me-worms.php
Steve Schwartzman
November 20, 2013 at 6:45 AM
I never realized there were more lines, or that it was a song. On the other hand, I still can sing “The Worms Crawl In, the Worms Crawl Out”. I’ll admit it gets a better reception among six-year-olds than it does with the sixty-year-old crowd.
shoreacres
November 20, 2013 at 7:00 AM
The fact—if fact it be—that the song was mentioned as early as 1906 but wasn’t recorded as a song until 1977 implies that the music came later.
I hear you about the reception.
Steve Schwartzman
November 20, 2013 at 7:18 AM
Oh, I love it!
beeholdn
November 21, 2013 at 7:09 AM
It’s something new to enjoy.
Steve Schwartzman
November 21, 2013 at 8:58 AM