The creepies, the crawlies, and me.

Soen at his happiest.

I don't know what was going on but today our backyard was like an episode of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

On a typical day one might find a few of those green and brown lizards called Anoles hanging out on our backyard fence. Let me rephrase that. Every single morning Soen wakes up, eats, and goes outside to find anoles. I usually have to drag him to the pool, where, after swimming for a bit, he gets out of the pool and goes to look for bugs and anoles.

We have a few other creatures that sometimes make themselves known to us. There's an elusive Southeastern Five-lined Skink that always scurries out of reach. (Those suckers an insanely fast.) And an Eastern Glass Lizard or two that have managed to remain alive in spite of being captured by Soen a few times. But mostly we just have those anoles.

Then today we managed to catch a green tree frog, a salamander, and this toad you see in the photo above. I say "we" but it was all Soen. I found the toad and the frog and managed to steer them towards Soen, who grabbed them so adeptly it was almost frightening. I had ample opportunities to grab these creatures myself but I couldn't get past the yuck factor.

Ever since Soen was a toddler he's been into bugs and all other sorts of creepie crawlies. He has never had any qualms about grabbing the most slimy and digusting creatures you've ever seen. On the contrary, nothing makes him happier. I, on the other hand, have basically tried my best to encourage Soen's interest in this sort of thing while hiding the fact that I have no stomach for it. Frankly, I've gotten rather good at it walking this line. I either make it my job to shepherd the animal in question towards Soen or I do a great imitation of a hunter who is just slightly too slow to grab the prey as it escapes. Of course I've gotten a lot of practice at this because I'm the one Soen wants with him as he goes hunting. I love that he asks me to go find lizards with him several times a day. I just wish he would invite me to do something that doesn't make me look less manly than Sadie (see below).

Anyway, back to today's catch: Soen couldn't have been more gleeful. I love that level of pure joy that only kids can experience and express. Sadie had a similar moment later today. There's this grey kitten that's suddenly been hanging out in our yard. He's very cute and playful but he is also understandably terrified of Sadie. Well, this afternoon he not only didn't run screaming when she approached him, but he actually played with her. Well, if she said "Meow meow play with me!" once she said it four hundred and sevently-five times. Which is probably the way I'd react if Soen suddenly said, "Hey Dad, let's go golfing."