Entomology: Hat Trick.

Today on my run I came across this little fella in Cleveland Park.

I cradled him in my right hand for nine miles. I suppose that's what you do when your avid bug collector and soon to be six-year-old son is laid up on the sofa all day with a double ear infection, fever, and chills.

Strangely enough, Cameron found this little monster outside the doctor's office this morning. Even after vomiting all over the receptionist's desk, he still had the eyes for this gem. The kid pays attention.

Then to make this lovely trifecta complete, Jay found this creature in the parking lot at the hospital in Spartanburg. I can't lie-I was a little troubled by this one. I didn't really want to touch it, but got over it for the sake of these stellar photos I'm posting.

Please note the pretzel for scale in all of these photos, a nod to Mr. Fox, my eighth grade Earth Science teacher and purveyor of the importance of relativity and scale. The pretzel is also relevant because I am ridiculously dehydrated after the aforementioned run, but more on that later. I can't quite bring myself to write about it just yet.

I also saw a black snake slithering across the trail and a hawk swoop down with great intention today, as well as cardinals, mockingbirds, and bluebirds. The bluebirds could be a little Uncle Remis coming through-pretty sure I was delirious at the end of the run.

All in all I made it through the run intact, Cameron's fever went down and he finally got off the sofa around 5 pm, and in his words, "It was a pretty good day."