There is a place in the woods in front of my house where I like to sit sometimes and just watch what nature is doing. It’s definitely a good spot for finding birds, especially certain kinds of warblers, but there is a lot more life out there than just birds. One of the things I see out there fairly regularly and rarely decide to photograph (I’m not sure why) are American giant millipedes (Narceus americanus). They sort of resemble large earth worms, and are sometimes known as iron worms, but obviously they aren’t really worms at all. Worms have no legs and these millipedes have hundreds of legs. All those legs give them the interesting ability to travel forward, backwards, and even side to side, although forwards and backwards are by far the most common. This one climbed out from underneath the leaf litter right beside my foot and hurried about three feet before it climbed back under again. They like it under the leaves since it’s moist under there and keeps their bodies from drying out. The leaf litter and decaying organic matter in it also is their food source. I’d say it’s pretty convenient to live among your food!