He was walking down the side of the highway on a humid and overcast day. His dog was sampling the smells with detail that he would never know. To him, the whole world smelled like mud and asphalt.

They crossed a narrow bridge that spanned a creek. Two rusted metal drainage pipes stood like massive shotgun barrels in the red clay colored water. The shallow flow had risen up with the recent rain and combed the tall grass on the banks in the direction of the current.

The dog paused in the road to sniff something. He noticed that it was an abnormally large crawdad. The thing was about the size of his fist, surely grown fat and large on the minnows and salamanders of the shallow water. The creature turned and raised its pincers in defiance as the dog nudged it.

He pulled back on the leash, saving the creature and his dog’s nose in one tug. The little thing stood there, combat ready, and sampled the scene with its antennae. He pushed the crawdad to the safety of the grass and smiled at the world’s beauty.