Give a little whistle, toot toot...

The bugs are little larger here. It is slightly disturbing to see how mammoth the insects can get - like this 3 1/2'' cricket! He has been living on Stefanie's window since I've been here. We talked about making a little lasso out of floss and walking him like a dog...we could name him Fido or Jiminy!

Jiminy is actually kind of cute, but some of the other exoskeletors that hang out in Florida are a little scary. There is a group of menacing spiders under the house where we keep our bikes. I did a little research and they look to be Golden Silk Spiders. The picture I took is a little blurry because everytime I got close to it I got that icky feeling that it was looking at me or that it was going to move around its elaborate and gigantic web. There are at least 3 huge residents under the deck and then a whole slew of babies (I actually think they are the males). What do you guys think? Icky, right?
I've seen some other not-so-pleasant looking arachnids and arthropods, but there is also some other really interesting wildlife here in Cedar Key. I haven't seen any gators yet, but I have seen pelicans, egrets, turkey vultures, green turtles, stray kitties, and of course dolphins! I hear that there is a good size population of bald eagles around here, too, which I am very excited to see.