evening constitutional

 Robert and I have always liked to go for walks in the evening.  Last night was our first walk this summer.  (I know it is already halfway though July.  It's just been one of those summers!)  So, after we got Addi-Q down for the evening, we headed out.  Since Robert likes canaling as much as the kids, our walk by the canal was a bit slow at times while he was trying to find fish.  I don't think he ever spotted any fish, but he did find one of these.  

Exhibit (a) the frog.  I really wish I had brought my camera with me, but this is exactly the expression the frog had when we walked by.  He gave a simple nod as we carried on, as if to say, "I won't bother you, if you won't bother me."

 We saw a few of these.  Y-U-C-K!!  Roaches gross me out more than any other bug around.  They run fast.  They fly.  They can live forever on glue.  It's true.  I learned that on the playground in grade school.  They are just nasty little things.

 We saw something that looked like this black beetle.  This picture really looks too small.  The beetle was about four inches long - no kidding!  I literally jumped a little, and I am not a jumper-at-bugs kind of person.  It was big and it had wings.  It looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

I was looking down, as to avoid anymore unwanted beetles joining my walk, and was attacked by what I think was our state tree, the Palo Verde.  I will forgive it, though.  It was dark.  Really, we just bumped into each other.

The night was topped off with a black widow.  Since it had spun its web of destruction at our gate, Robert decided it had to be euthanized.  It can't just be hanging around where our kids are, right?  So, he squashed it with his shoe.