We have a visitor in our fish pond. That would be the pond that we recently spent money on to restock with fish that are about the size of your finger. They aren’t ready for frying. In fact, they are too tiny to even catch. Scratch that: the great heron that visits on a daily basis catches his share. Our hope is that he’s eating the larger “trash,” meaning the ones we don’t eat because they taste pretty yucky. There’s really no way to know, except to sit and watch him, which we do on occasion.
But now we also have an alligator, which is not welcome or wanted. He’s not even bothering to go home at night. Apparently he packed up and brought everything he needs to be happy here. We provide the food and space; he suns himself whereever he has a mind to. It’s a bit crazy, yes, but what are our options? No, we can’t eat him because we can’t kill him. We can’t relocate him because that would require wrestling him into a gator straightjacket. The folks who would wrestle are more expensive than the fish were, so no. You’re welcome to come scare him away, but I won’t say that’s even remotely safe, and I won’t help. Sorry. I keep my distance.
Besides, what guarantees that another fella won’t come knocking? Heck, I’m a little concerned that a whole family might come. Except Richard insists that there aren’t enough fish to sustain a family. Fingerlings are pretty small.
According to my husband, this guy will eat until the food runs out then go find another food source. I guess I have to trust him. Richard, not the gator. The gator is not to be trusted. At six foot long, he could easily cause lots of pain. Just ask the heron. That heron keeps his distance also. He still comes to eat, but he is always on the opposite side of the pond from the alligator. That’s a convenient way of knowing where the mean guy is. Sneaky thing doesn’t move much, but he is hard to see.
All this, typical Louisiana has me appreciating the beauty of our place. So, I thought I’d share a few Louisiana scenes. The ones we Louisianans occasionally take for granted.
These are all in my Pinterest board, “Louisiana home.”
As always, thanks for coming! Tell me, have you ever visited Louisiana?
An alligator! That would freak me out. Mind you, over here a fishpond is something you have in your back garden and even a big one wouldn’t fit your alligator, so what I imagined reading your first sentence and what you have in real life don’t really mach up.
Kaja, We live on a small farm of about 8 acres, and the pond is about 1/2 acres. There’s also a lake that runs onto our property. Plenty of space for an alligator. I’m not terribly freaked out, but I also don’t wander around the water sources. When I walk, I keep a close watch. Plus the wild ducks like to jump up and take off when I get close and that scares me every time. They’re a good reminder that I’m getting a little close, but I doubt they’ll be sitting around waiting to warn me if the alligator is nearby. Best to just keep my distance. So I do!