Took some time off from work Tuesday afternoon. This kids and I decided we were going to the Ramapo river to catch crayfish and salamanders. When we got to the river, it was much higher, faster and muddier than typical from the last couple of weeks of rain. So much for catching crawdads!
Instead we pretended I was a zombie that the boys dispatched with sticks fashioned into (what else?) firearms. We turned over logs in search of insects and worms. We also found a few dead, rotting trees that we knocked over. I loved doing this as a kid & Reed & Hunter were digging it too!
We knocked over one tree that proved to be hollow and within it caught maybe the biggest spider I have ever seen in NJ. Looks like a fishing spider, genus, Dolmedes. This was a female carrying around its egg sack.
Kept it overnight and took a few photos in the morning and then released it back down by the river.
When Reed realized I was going to release her he asked, "Dad, can we go and visit her at the river?"
