One of my fondest childhood memories was exploring the shores of Lake Weir, where my grandparents lived. Lake Weir is located near the town of Oklawaha, twenty miles south of Ocala, in central Florida. The lake is a natural spring fed lake with crystal clear water and a white sandy bottom. Orange groves surround the five by six-mile lake. Having no neighbors for miles around was the best part of all. It was as if the lake belonged to me. My grand dad kept 300 feet of lake front cleared and had a grass lawn all the way back to the orange grove. Belonging to mother nature, the rest of the property was untouched by human hands. When it was early morning, the sun was still low in the sky and the lake was as smooth as glass, this would be my favorite time for exploring. Providing shade for me from the sun, the huge magnolia trees had moss hanging lazily from their branches. My supplies consisted of a "croaker sack"; a large mayonnaise jar with holes in the lid, string, forked stick, and a dull, rusted pocketknife. I would walk in shallow water that came up to my calves. Keeping in mind that there were dangers lurking about in the water, I looked back and forth between the shore and deeper water for things that would interest me. Snapping turtles were easy to see in the clear water. They were black, about the size of a quarter, with a yellow stripe on each side of their head and along their feet. There would be shallow pools of water with tadpoles. These I could easily scoop into my jar. When spotting a log along the shore, I would walk up quietly, stand behind it, and flip it over. That moment never failed to give me a chill down my spine. I might find anything from black widow spiders to water moccasins. If I were lucky, I might find a hog-nosed snake. They were usually about a foot long and when threatened they flattened their head like a cobra and shook their tail like a rattlesnake. If that failed, they would roll over and play dead. I could take the forked stick, pin his head to the ground, place it into the croaker sack and tie it with my string. Occasionally, I would come upon a wood lizard. It was tricky to catch because they were fast and darted rapidly back and forth. My stomach growling and the sun high in the sky, I could tell that it was lunchtime, so I would start heading back. Once I got back, I put the animals in the cages my grandfather and I had built. I saved the best animals to take back to Ocala with me. They were worth their weight in gold when trading with all of my buddies.