Egrets, Ibis, Alligators and my own personal Discovery Channel...

I've started to get used to this nice relaxing view I have... It's very calming to see all the various comings and goings of the local 'wildlife' . The main traffic is the ibis' (or is it Ibiss, maybe Ibises?)... They look great from a distance, but up close they are kind of dirty faced scoundrels...

So the birds come and go... Taking the periodic dip in the 'lake', plucking the unseen bugs from the ground with their long beaks, and just hanging around...

And then there's the alligators...

The woman at the association office was very eager to school me on the 'ponds-edge etiquette', as there had been sightings of the elusive alligators in our calm waters. Which I wouldn't have believed until last weekend, when I almost ran my car up onto to the golf course because I was too busy watching one of these creatures climb out of the water and neglected to pay attention to the curve in the road...

So, the other night, after I had spent some time unpacking boxes, shifting boxes, and filling cabinets,,,, I was standing on my new balcony-patio-porch-thingy and looking out over the lake-pond. It was about 9:30pm, dark outside, but one of the lights from the parking lot was shining through the buildings onto the waters edge. It was a very peaceful night, the water was calm, and there were actually 3 ibis walking right along the edge of the water looking for their evening snack. As one stopped, looking at me on my new balcony-patio-porch-thingy much the same way I was looking at him,,, noticing his new neighbor... But I was drawn to the other two, who for some reason had started to put a distance between themselves and their dining companion...

And then it happened... In the quiet of the evening, a BIG splash, my eyes dart back... and the odd man out, is now the odd man ate... GONE... The splash was not that of a splashing fish, as it jumps for a bug just above the water... This splash was Discovery Channel worthy... and although I am glad I didn't actually see it happen,,,


As the water calmed back down, and the other two ibis went back to dining on grubs as though their friend had never existed, I found myself actually disappointed that I had looked away, and possibly missed my one opportunity to witness natures survival of the fittest from a front row seat....

And then I realized that although my TV has a remote, that allows me to flip the channel when these brutally honest moments in nature are about to take place... My new balcony-patio-porch-thingy does not... So I am sure to have to sit through a re-run in the near future...

I'll keep you posted.... Later gator!!!