A small drama on the river

 By some quirk, teacup-sized whirlpools formed behind a snag in the shallows, out of the main current of the Yellow River. The tiny whirlpools lasted for a second or two and would then disappear. But they formed, one after another, and scores of water boatmen, insects in family Corixidae, were swarming around them.

It seemed like a feeding frenzy, and I wondered whether the little whirlpools were stirring up mosquito larvae.

It took a while to see them, but two Southern painted turtles, Chrysemys picta, were hugging the bottom, looking up at the insects.

If you get out of the house, you sometimes see little wonders.