Last year we decided to dig a small pond at the back of our property. Our yard was much too large and without a focal point as well as we needed some water control (after even a moderate rain our backyard turned into a small replica of the great black Swamp). For the first year, the pond was only about ½ full and really looked more like a glorified mud puddle instead of the pond I had envisioned, but by the end of the summer, we had a few frogs and even a turtle that frequented it. Ok, fast forward to this spring – with the copious amount of snowmelt along with the near constant rain in April, our pond has been filled to the brim and actually looks like a pond (although it still has no grass or landscaping – I hope to remedy this in the next few weeks...). Wildlife have discovered the pond this year and nearly daily we stand at the back window looking to see what new critters have come for a visit. We have had Canada Geese, Mallard ducks and some sort of nifty diving ducks – they actually dive under the surface of the water instead of tipping up – pretty cool. We have seen a turtle again and, no joke about a million of frogs!! Now, I like frogs as much as the next person – after all Kermit was a frog and as far as amphibians go, they do have cute little personalities, they love to sing, for instance. Sitting outside is like going to see American Idol, but without Steven Tyler and J-Lo offering advice.... anyway, this all leads up to the amusing story, which follows.
As usual, I am standing at the back window looking for new inhabitants of the pond, when low and behold, what do I see? An Alligator!!!! "Holy Cow, what.....is....that???" I whispered under my breath. It was a dark shape; fairly large, mostly submerged under the surface with what looked like two eyes just above the surface, just like an alligator! I admit, I was a bit excited, and went to get the binoculars for a better look, but before I grabbed them, I announced to the house, "There's an alligator in the pond!!" with gusto. By the time I was focusing the binocs, my youngest, Dylan bounded up next to me, 'Where? Where?" "There! There!" I replied (we seem to resort to guttural, monosyllabic Cro-Magnon style of speaking when excited...) As I focused peered through the binocs, I could see that it was really a clump of weeds that had blown into the pond and the eyes were really seed pods, sticking above the surface, but I managed to keep that to myself for the time being. "Dyl, why don't you put your shoes on and go out an get a closer look?" I suggested. "Wait, I have watched Animal Planet shows, do you know how fast those things can move? I'd be eaten alive!" he replied. I countered with, "You run track, I am confident that you could move faster than him" While we are both alternately staring at each other and at the Alligator, Steve moved in behind us. "What's all the commotion?" "Mom thinks there's an alligator in the pond" Dylan replied with a smirk. I couldn't believe it, my son had taken a page out of my own book of dirty tricks – he had just thrown me under the Alligator bus! Steve simply said, "Dumbasses, it's a clump of weeds that blew into the pond, I already checked it out" as he turned to walk away. Under his breath Dylan said what I was thinking..."Ah, but you checked, didn't you?!"
Postscript: Later that day I went back to check and the Alligator was gone.... or had it simply submerged....?!
Post, Post script: When my oldest son, Nick came home for Easter weekend, I relayed the above story to him and here was his reply (in true brainiac style) "While I am happy that you thought is was an alligator instead of a crocodile, since crocs are only indigenous to warm, tropical environments with access to saltwater. The Nile crocodile lives in the Nile River, hence it's name while the saltwater crocodile lives in Australia. There is one crocodile indigenous to the United State but is only found in the severe Southern states with access to the ocean or estuary areas, so it is highly unlikely that it could be a crocodile. An alligator on the other hand is only found in fresh water settings, most notably in the Yangtze River of China, however the American Alligator is fairly widespread in the lower States, it is NOT commonly found in the farm ponds of Ohio, mom." Jeesh, can't a girl have a little fun????
Post, Post, Post script: Later, I remembered that I had a concrete lawn ornament alligator and thought I'd have some fun with my Facebook friends by posting pictures of the alleged alligator in different areas of my yard......what a great GOTCHA moment!!
Happy Easter!!
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