Astacus fluviatilis en situ

We stood down by the creek yesterday, peering into the unusually clear water.

At the bottom of the creek the algae clings to the rocks and mud of the slower-moving areas, but along the very lowest parts there are pathways stripped clean of algae. The crawdads (of which there are many) crawl along the pathways, dart under the rocks, sometimes scuttle right into the middle of a patch of algae and just sit there for a while.

The whole effect is that of watching a Sunday at the park from high above. Stately crawdads promenade along cleared paths, nodding to crawdads laying on wide, green lawns taking the sun. Crawbabies scamper along the rocks playing hide and seek, or wrestle with each other. At one point, a crawdad was using its tail to push itself backward quickly from another crawdad, rather like an unfortunate jogger sprinting to outrun a mugger. And whenever two crawdads met, they would grab each other's claws and begin fighting.

So...not a park in a nice neighborhood, then.