The Apex Predator in the pond

That sums up an American Alligator - the apex predator in any pond.  I actually didn't realize this one was lurking in the lilies at the edge of the pond, as I squatted down about 10 feet from the water, snapping photos of dragons and damsels.  He came to my attention when I heard an enormous splash and the squawk of a frightened moorhen.  Good day for the moorhen - it managed to fly away just in the knick of time.  As for the gator, he dove and surfaced about 30 feet away.  If anyone labors under an misconception about the speed with which gators can move, wonder no more.  Their speed is FAST.  

As for me, it took a few moments for my heartbeat to slow back down to a normal speed.  The other wading birds in the pond all took off and perched on a brick wall just a few feet from me - clearly prefering to take their chances with me that the Apex Predator.  Exciting times!

I just discovered that my last 3 days of blips are all on the Popular page at the moment - quite an honor and not something I've ever experienced.  Kind of hard to think about topping that, so I am going with the easy shot today.  Nothing special about this, doesn't tell a story, but it WILL always remind me of that giant splash and my rapidly accelerating heartbeat.  Plus, once I get back to NJ, there definitely won't be any more gators to Blip.

Speaking of Blip, I am going to assume that they will get themselves sorted out.  Can't imaging that Polaroid is just going to walk away from whatever they invested in Blipfoto.  Just the same, I am going through the laborious process of copying my text into a Word document for safekeeping.  I like being able to go back and read my journal entries from time to time - reminds me of the things that were going on in my life on any given day.  The challenge, for me, is that I'm coming up on four years...that's a LOT of entries.  And, of course, I'll continue to post photos on Flickr.  In fact, I've posted four dragon/damsel shots there today, starting HERE  Lots of ode-sex going on at the pond today.

Thank you for all the love on my photos these past few days - I've been so very fortunate to have come across things that were extremely photogenic this week.  It happens that way sometimes.  

ciao...