Mistletoe State Park and Field Cricket Encounter

Today I made it out to Mistletoe State Park which is a beautiful place with great, well maintained hiking trails. The sky was overcast and thunder in the distance threatened what would have been a welcome burst of rain. I had my pack and my ziplock bags to protect my books, camera and tape recorder. I hiked about a mile down one trail, sat down next to a large oak tree, and recorded some stories on tape for the kids in the family. A buck bounded into view just before I left this site and we stood considering each other for a good two minutes before he jumped and disappeared into the green backdrop of the woods behind him. On the walk back towards the spot where I had parked, I saw the healthiest, fattest female field cricket that I have seen in a long while. This cricket was hopping across the road that winds through the park. I followed behind her to make sure that she made it all the way across before a car came. She was hopping 3 feet per jump and refused to walk as many field crickets will do. I got a couple of good pictures of her, and then returned home to get ready for work.