The Creek Rises, A Spider Walks

First came the snow, about two feet deep.  Than came the rain, a whole day's worth, soaking the snow and filling the creeks to a roaring tumult.  Then it turned frigid again, freezing the snow and making it hard to walk on, even with snowshoes, which crunched through the weakened snow and got caught beneath the hard crust. Desperate to get outdoors for a walk, I headed out to Saratoga Spa State Park, where I could walk on a paved road that took me past Geyser Creek.  Boy, that creek sure was roaring!

It roared even louder when a little side stream poured into it.

Further downstream, ice chunks clogged the flow, and water flooded onto the picnic area along the banks of the creek.

The afternoon was mild and calm when I started out, but a brisk wind suddenly blew up a quick snow squall.  My ears got cold.  Time to head home.

Whoa!  What's this?  A SPIDER walking around on the snow?  Wow!  You don't see this very often! I would have thought spiders were either dead by January or else curled up somewhere cozy until spring. Well, this was a Striped Fishing Spider, so maybe it was headed toward the creek to try its luck, with the ice washed away like this.  Guess I'd better read up on how Striped Fishing Spiders usually spend the winter. (This one was pretty small, only a bit more than an inch across, so it must have been a young one. The adults can be nearly 3 inches across.)