This morning started out with a thunderstorm. Ron got the awning down just in time. Then we were without electricity for a few hours.
We were sitting outside having coffee when a lone Canada goose walked right into our campsite and honked and honked repeatedly. I thought he was probably trying to tell us something, as animals in distress will sometimes do that. Since we didn’t have any idea what the problem was, he took off, honking constantly, and walked the entire length of the canal near our site.
It finally dawned on me. Geese mate for life. He was alone. I bet he was looking for his mate, and I’ll also bet an alligator got him or her. So sad, if that was the case.
Later this afternoon, we were walking the dogs when we saw a boy fishing from the bank. We struck up a conversation with his dad. Then we learned that a small alligator was messing with the boy’s fish line, maybe trying to steal his bait.
His Dad called out, “Don’t you try to catch that alligator! Don’t you try to catch that alligator!”
I had Ron hold the dogs, then walked down the bank to get a closer look. Sure enough there was a baby alligator, with just his nose above the water. As I watched, more of the head appeared. And soon the body also came into view. The dad told me that when they come in at night, the boat lights reflect off so many alligator eyes that it looks like someone strung Christmas lights.
What is really scary is that this is the “safe” part of the water that I was letting Sheba play in up until a couple of days ago.
Sheba apparently senses that something is wrong with the water because she hasn’t tried to head into it lately. However, rain puddles in the street are fair game!
Tonight is our last night here at Cotton Hill COE. It’s been one of the most beautiful places we’ve stayed this far south.
We’ll be back. But probably in the winter when the alligators are hibernating!
Emily
/ May 22, 2012Wow, you really did see an alligator. Guess the warning sign is real, huh? Cours when I was there, was probably too early for them. It is a nice campground, I’d go back again.
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tinycamper
/ May 22, 2012Emily, I saw a bigger one yesterday. There are apparently a LOT of them!
I agree that it’s a very nice campground. The people we’ve met here made it even nicer!
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Jo
/ May 22, 2012Maybe they need to do something about all these gators before some one gets badly hurt. It’s to bad about them because it sure looks like a beautiful place.
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tinycamper
/ May 22, 2012Jo, I doubt they will. This is a normal ecosystem for this area.
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Ann
/ May 23, 2012Gorgeous photography!
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tinycamper
/ May 23, 2012Thanks, Ann! 🙂
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Marcia
/ May 23, 2012Love your pic of Sheba in the (gator-free) puddle!
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tinycamper
/ May 23, 2012What was cute was that she was just as happy there as she had been splashing in the lake! 🙂
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Marcia
/ May 24, 2012Our canine pals are much more uncomplicated than we can – finding their joy in the moment 🙂
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