Monsters in my pond.

A few weeks ago my children were playing out in the yard and came running back inside to tell me that they couldn't play outside because there were scary monsters swimming in the pond. They described these 'monsters' as having a stinging tail and eating the fairy shrimp. I figured that they were just trying to find excuses to come inside and stare blankly at the TV, so I chased them back outside.

Several days after that, I went out to the pond to relax while looking at the water, and I saw something scurry across the bottom of the pond. Scurrying- like what a cockroach does, with sudden stops and changes of direction. Greenish brown with an inch and a half-long shell, and an inch long tail, this was the largest pond critter I had seen in my vernal pool. It looked like a very small horseshoe crab. I don't know if you've ever seen a horseshoe crab, but they are CREEPY. This tiny lookalike was no exception.

I rushed to the computer, searched, researched, and found that they weren't tiny horseshoe crabs , but triops. Interesting. Thumper wanted one of the creepy little invertebrates for a pet, but unfortunately a triops, like my pond, has a short lifespan, and the one I caught for him died soon after. I wanted to take pictures, but my camera wasn't up to the task.

Next year I will be prepared, and catch a younger one. Pictures will follow.