It’s a sunny, but windy Saturday (as I write this recap). I should be working on my Italian or even taking a walk. Instead, I’m writing this and studying Italian. Probably not a good idea for either. But here we go…

Here began what I hoped would be (and still hope will be) the highlight of this current storyline:  Rusty’s hunt for the Seaside Specter. This week we saw Rusty take off in the woods at night, on his own, only to be corralled by a pursuing Cherry. She insisted he bring along a walkie-talkie while she “hung around” the woods, looking for edible mushrooms. Rusty continued on his path, hardly going very far when he saw something down the path that he immediately thought might be the specter. He fumbled with his pack to don the mask his Aunt Olive lent him (to protect his eyes). After putting it on, he started complaining about his eyes(!) and then everything went bad. He hollered for Mommy, who immediately showed up and suggested they return to the house to eat mushrooms and have a rethink. What a disappointment.

Is this the end of Rusty’s adventure? I hope not, because the other so-called storyline with Mark, Dad, and the Goofball Bros is less an adventure and more of a business meeting (YAWN!).  And heaven forbid if one of those Bozo Bros volunteers to accompany Rusty on another attempted hunt. Yet, I suppose it could add some madcap action to a story that still has not gotten off the ground. Something needs to happen, and soon. But we won’t know anything until at least Monday. For now, time to relish the Sunday nature chat. (BTW, I did go biking this morning, so there!)

I don’t suppose Rivera is going to win over viewers sliding in some social gender typing, and I’m not sure it scientifically applies here. However, I don’t think Rivera cares. The term “crab” is not really fluid, just too often used. I’ll stand corrected on that, if necessary.

Mark’s discussion of crab evolution is interesting and something new to me. I also found it interesting (with some futhter reading) that young crabs go through lots of molting stages on the way to adulthood. The process takes a long time and is neither simple nor free from danger. In fact, while attempting to escape from its old shell, a molting crab can be caught betwixt the shell and the deep blue sea and die! Crabs also have a complex and populous taxonomy, with some 7000 species, if I’m reading the data correctly.