The discovery of this native struggling to survive in the turfgrass got me to create turf free areas in my yard, where remnants of the woodland natives had persisted even after decades of lawn treatments by previous owners.

@bobbyfingers, this is one you might appreciate: I made a terrible first impression on this lady by opening my front door two inches and smacking her in the head with it. Presumably, this is a female looking to make a scrape to lay eggs and not a door-to-door saleswoman selling armor. Unfortunately, she chose the tumbling escape route off the side of the front deck and not the stairs I assume she came up in the first place. She then took a second tumble from the bed she landed in down to the paved path below her. She showed no signs of damage and seemed unfazed by what looked like a serious tumble. We were both a bit in shock but thankfully, we both left the scene with digits intact. I'm very interested to hear if anyone else has had such an experience? I've had plenty of garden encounters but not a snapper climbing 5 steps and trying to dig into the front door. Very cool.

The host plant is Anemone berlandieri. This past month, I noticed that about half of the plants looked normal (broad leaves low to the ground, and blooming) and the other half had leaves with upright growth (well off the ground) and highly divided, broad leaves low to the ground, and not blooming. I guess the fungi caused this abnormal growth habit.

Orangethroat Darter (Etheostoma spectabile) from a tiny creek in Kendall County, Illinois (northeastern part of the state). Tributary to a tributary of the Fox River. Caught in a dipnet. Photographed in a clear plastic box on a picnic table. 90mm macro lens. Cleaned up in Photoshop (remove bits of detritus from the water, adjust contrast, etc.; color pretty much as in original shot). Fish was less than 2 inches (5cm) long, so this shows just half an inch or so.

Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii) from a tiny creek in Kendall County, Illinois (northeastern part of the state). Tributary to a tributary of the Fox River. Caught in a dipnet. Photographed in a clear plastic box on a picnic table. 90mm macro lens. Cleaned up in Photoshop (remove bits of detritus from the water, adjust contrast, etc.; color pretty much as in original shot). Fish was less than 3 inches (7.5 cm) long, so this shows just an inch or so.

Elizabeth and I went to the Everglades! What an amazing place. It was mighty crowded today (holiday), and the staff wasn't working (gov't shutdown), but there were some amazing volunteers present. It was quite cool. Oh, and we spotted amazing wildlife. :)