This is an egret taking off in flight near Aaron's Beach. He was scared to death because I pulled in on two wheels, dust flying, after driving wide open down the gravel road leading in. Normally I don't drive fast, but this time it was necessary--to avoid second-degree crabslaughter.
See, the fiddler crabs can't be satisfied with their wetland habitat: their marsh grass, their creek mud, their shallow water or the surrounding ditches. No, that's just not good enough.
Instead, they conduct meetings, revivals, parties and more in the middle of the road, whole herds of them. Whether they wish to torture the driver or tempt fate is not clear. Perhaps it's some sort of indoctrination into a secret fiddler crab fraternity. "Here, lad, if you linger in the middle of the road and dodge between car wheels, you can enter this secret society of ours." I eavesdropped one day and swear that's what I heard.
Perhaps they do it to show off to their friends; maybe they feel manlier strutting out to linger in the road. Who knows.
Whatever. No matter. They're smack dab in the middle of the road in full force, millions of them. Unfortunately there is no way to avoid running over them because there are just too many; they're thick as thieves and scurrying hither, thither and yon.
This driver does break for fiddler crabs (there's a bumper sticker here, I just know it), but she knows when she's outnumbered so then she floors it, puts the pedal to the metal. And scares egrets to death.
I wonder what the jail sentence is for second-degree crabslaughter?
Hypothetically speaking, of course.
18 comments:
Oh my GAHHHHHHH, you ran over a fiddler crab orgy, didn't you?
Put it in the movie.
Did you get, you know, um . . . pictures?
Captcha:
DHODOZ
which is what you take when you have a cold and you still need to stay awake
yes, I keep wondering why we don't have a photo of them all over the road?
must be when you see them all, they freak you out so much, you just don't think straight anymore?
The Attack of the Killer Fiddler Crabs!
I just don't know what to say. I've got this mental picture of you in my mind driving down that road and trying to avoid all those crabs. Sort of like trying to run through raindrops and not get wet. Impossible!
If no mayo is involved crabslaw ..oh wait, you didnt say crabslaw, but crabSLAUGHTER .. oh well forget the mayo ...nevermind
If you ask Chesapeake Bay Daughter or even some of the Blog Festers who were in the car when we were doing the tour of the beaches, they can attest to the fact that the fiddler crabs hang out in the road, although nobody's been in the car with me when there have been an inordinate number.
These particular road-lounging fiddler crabs are tiny and they blend in very well with the road.(As opposed to the extra huge, mutant beasts which linger around the shoreline at my house.)
Next time I'll try to take a picture, but I don't think I'll be able to capture the moment adequately. Plus, I'm usually screaming and swerving, so ideally someone else would be taking the picture.
I believe Asthma Girl took some pictures of them during one of their road-blocking parties. Perhaps she'll send me one.
Crab slaw...hmmm. We might be onto something here.
Haha, You know I actually got to see these crabs and their meetings. I really am not a fan of them doing that in the road way. I felt like I should have got out of the car with all of the ladies behind me, scopped them up, and put them back in the marsh....Maybe next time :)
...I believe the penance for crabslaughter is confinement to your shell and 10,000 pinches... *hee,hee* ;o)
...Yeah, makes one wonder when they see you coming do they yell, "Holy Crabcakes here she comes!"
...Which also leads one to wonder when Fiddler Crabs baptize one another do they dip each other in butter? lol... Okay, okay, I promise I quit now...*hee,hee* :oD
...Happy Friday CBW & CBPeeps! Blessings too... :o)
"fiddler crab orgy"
VERY WRONG!
You do know only the males have the big claw.
For the life of me, I can't understand why I didn't take a picture of the "Great Fiddler Crfab Crossing of 2009" when I was down there, a mere two weeks ago.
Wait, someone did though...who was it?
Remembering how you honked at those itty bitty crabs to move out of the road is a memory I'll always laugh about.
If you had better eyesight would you break for ants?
I know what you mean when you say they hold meetings..they plot things, very bad things, and carry out a sophisticated coup d'etat. I don't know if you remember the " hippety hop" species of insect/demon, aka "camel back cricket", but they, too, have gatherings. Their main objective: to kill me. It is a step by step plan that begins with a slow adjustment of jacked up body, repositioning it so that it is staring at me from any angle, followed by a pouncing to and fro, jumping up and down at eye level which in turn causes me to pass out...then, their buffet begins!
Good luck with the fiddler crabs.
Love,
Baby Sis
I thought you always drove like that just because...
Would it help to think of cars as a natural fiddler crab predator, fulfilling an important role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem? Because it certainly sounds like there are way too many fiddler crabs out there.
Eww, I've been, there, committed crabslaughter. It's ugly. Very, very ugly! Oh, and did I mention that the squirrel is in a CAGE in my baby's future bedroom? Yes, he is there on purpose. And spoiled.
I'll bet those fiddler crabs fill up the Tabernacle during their little camp meetings. THAT's why there's a mote around the place!
I really need to see this to believe it!
The crab fest is looking like a go!
Sorry I missed you today! Things dont always go as planned =(
Peace?
I still have my pictures of the fiddler crab "suicide squad"!
My youngest loved it!
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