My yard is on Sycamore Creek, a year 'round tributary of the Trinity River. There is a magic and a connectedness to the natural world I find even on a little creek like this that is so much larger than just having a lot in town with a house on it. (And that's no BS!)

No crawdads, that I've seen, but we seem to have some really big freshwater clams. I've found shells as much as 5 and 6 inches across. Fish, turtles, snakes, lots and lots of birds. Coyotes, foxes, skunks, possums, and children who play along the banks.