Harbinger of Summertime

Today was the official first day of summer and I am happy to say..it is here! Our first harbinger of summer made its appearance right on time!  Mark and I were down on the pier trying to catch a few fish for supper when he pointed to something far out in the middle of the Bay.   "I think that is one of the alligators." he said.  At first, I was a bit skeptical since we had not seen hide nor hair of the critters this whole spring.  I had even began to wonder if our buddies had met some dire fate during their winter hibernation.  Then, again, this spring has been a bit on the weird side so this might be our friendly gator.  We would just have to wait and see.

Mark and I kept fishing.  We were catching a wide variety of fish..just nothing that was one bit useful except to use as crab bait.  The catfish, stingrays and Ladyfish all filled the crab pots nicely but our skillet stayed empty.  In the meantime, the "gator" moved closer to the pier.  Hmm..this really did look like an alligator!  Still, I could not make out any definite lines.   Then Mark had an idea...take a picture of the object!  We could zoom in on it from even this distance to identify it!  So, out came the trusty camera!  Snap!  I zoomed in on the small blob in the middle of my screen.  Sure enough!  It was an alligator!  Hurray!

It elated me to know that at least one of our gator friends was coming back to haunt the Bayou.  Perhaps it had wintered here and was just now making an appearance!  The gator seemed a bit dubious about getting too chummy with us.  It kept its distance but still hovered close enough to make its presence known.  Usually, by midsummer, the gators will venture a bit closer to the pier.  They are never a nuisance but are rather just curious.  If a gator is on the prowl and notices that we are on the pier, it will slip out to deeper water and watch us.  Hmmm...perhaps we had better not fall in the water!  And Ms. Ez better not go for a swim.  We or she could just become supper for a fine gator! Welcome back, Little Gator!  Welcome back!  It is nice that you have decided to spend your summer with us once again!