Rainy Days

Last week was ridiculously rainy. I love the way the rain smells and sounds, but I had one hyper puppy on my hands and wasn't a big fan of taking him for leisurely walks in the rain or oppressive humidity.

I've seen kids fishing in the ditch outside our house for these crab-like creatures (anyone have a name?), so I thought they carried on with their lives far from mine where I wouldn't have to worry about them. 

One rainy night, I opened the door to coerce Eddie outside and this creature was waiting for us:'

Nice claw there, big guy.

Longer than my fingers!

Do you think he's missing a pincher?

They aren't scary or poisonous like the massive Huntsman spiders we were seeing during the rainy period, but definitely outside my realm of normalcy from growing up outside Detroit. I didn't kill him or shoo him away, but when I went back outside in the morning, he had disappeared.


Have you ever encountered this crustacean on your doorstep? Do you know his name? Any idea why I keep finding crab parts all over the road (i.e. in Eddie's mouth) by the ditch? Are people eating them?