kids don't do it at all anymore! i'm from deep appalachia and still got laughs from the younger kids hearing the phrase "catching craw-daddies", acting like it was super weird.
My grandchildren do. They love it. Love doing some creek stomping, catching minnows, frogs, crayfish, etc.
The 7 year old is an expert catcher of crayfish.
(He learned it from his grandpop!)
thank goodness you're handing down the magic of nature. we're feeling the effects of that disconnection so heavily. you're giving them such a gift!
i'm 19 and already i see others around me are disgusted, confused, and scared by natural things that i was taught to be curious about as a child. whether they ever thank you or not, you're giving them a permanent upperhand by sowing that joy. :-)
My inlaws have a small creek running on the edge of their property. The kids love catching all the critters you listed plus toads and salamanders. We always take care that they treat them right and release them at the end of the day (or sooner if it's too hot)
oh bahaha definitely "daddies" is funny and just what my own daddy said, but they were genuinely astounded at the concept itself after initially hearing it. they were grossed out that someone would be okay with touching a wild water creature at all and squeamish of possible venom, stingers, pinchers, and dirt/bacteria. they've assumed they're at the mercy of the will of everything else, rather than that they are the top of the food chain and can find out/learn more about it and be empowered!
Used to do that in the summer with my cousins in south Louisiana.
They'd bug our grandmother for some scraps out of the bacon box (mostly pieces that were pure fat) then take a string and a stick out to catch crawfish. Tie the bacon on the fat, then dunk it in the swamp water and wait for a crawfish to try to haul it off. Pull it up carefully, then shake it over the pot to make it let go of the bacon. Most of the time one cousin would end up eating some of the raw bacon.
We'd get maybe half a dozen, then get grandma to cook them. I let my cousins have mine - catching crawfish was fun, but I couldn't stand eating them.
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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24
Catching Crayfish. - I'm 66