Was this in your pond? It looks like an albino gator. what did you do about it?

I'm assuming this is one of the very rare albino gators at the St. Augustine Gator Farm or the like? I would really like to see one...been meaning to go visit one of the exhibits that feature them.

As for me, I don't swim in any body of water that isn't enclosed in turquoise concrete. And I would check THAT before jumping in, too. So hopefully, I won't have any run-ins with alligators of any type. Unless it's the dreaded "Land Gator," distant cousin of the Land Shark who once held a reign of terror on SNL.

Cool photo.

Marcia

That gator looks like he actually found some love. :-)

The smile gives them away every time! ;~))

THAT is one creepy fellow to watch out for!
Manature.........on an earlier post you asked,
"What is a swimsuit?" I'm assuming now that when you swim in a body of water with blue concrete....you're doing that "au naturel"....Just kidding! Just giving you a hard time.

I'm with you there as far as knowing what might possibly be lurking in any body of water that has the right of way. Although I enjoy the beach, it's always a gamble.

Sue.

Honestly, Sue, I haven't gone swimming in years. I just can't stand the thought of myself in a swimsuit. It's all I can do not to SHOWER fully dressed! But...if I WERE to don a suit and take the plunge...it would definitely be in a swimming pool, ONLY. I don't do lakes, rivers or oceans any more. Spent too many years canoeing them and seeing what else is swimming in there. *shiver* Big things. With sharp pointy teeth. And appetites. And that's just at the Tiki Huts.

I love this albino gator, but I want a boat or canoe between me and him at all times!

Marcia

You crack me up Marcia!!!
Even after 32 years living in this glorious state, I just love the beach. I will admit I wear a 2 piece (not well) and I do cover up at the beach until the water beckons me. That is when my constant beach buddy (my oversized inflated raft) and I head to the Gulf. It's the best cover up and is always there for me as I enter the water and depart the water. If you were ever on the same beach as I, you'd never see me. I've got this down.
And yes, I am always looking around for Jaws and sting rays but it's worth it. On another VERY TRUE note, years ago up in Land O Lakes, while waterskiing on a lake, a gator almost got me after I wiped out. No more lakes for me!
Sue

Glad I gave you a smile, Sue. Ooooh...waterskiing! Or trolling for gators, as I think of it! *more shivering* Not for MEEEEEEE. And I haven't been in the ocean past my knees since the summer I was swimming way out by the end of the pier at Clearwater Beach and the next day's paper showed an 11 foot long hammerhead someone caught from that very spot. While I was there. Swimming. Dangling my yummy looking toes and legs right in his dining room! EEEK.
Never could do it again!

I HAVE snorkeled since then in the Keys...but I admit to putting my face in the water and checking everything out as far as I can see before the rest of me goes in. And even then, it's only in certain areas that don't seem likely to harbor anything larger than NEMO. AND I still look over my shoulder constantly, as I float in my four feet of clear water.

I've been in Florida all my life, and I've seen too many things that I can't put out of my mind. I'm staying on the beach. Under the umbrella. With my Total Eclipse sunblock on. And UV protectant sunglasses. And a long sleeved shirt. And possibly slacks.

Now you know why I don't bother going any more. I prefer the beach late in the day or at night when I can stroll along without getting burned and look for shells. Which don't bite.

Marcia

Laughing again here.
A couple of years ago while snorkelling a couple of miles off Key West, the kids and I came face to face with a moray eel. And then a shark. What fun! We scrambled back to the boat as fast as possible.
Looking back, what was I thinking? Board a boat, pass through the beautiful tropical waters in Key West, travel for about an hour into deeper water, put on our gear, clumsily fall into the water and then swim to the darkest area (the reefs) to see what's down there. It was breathtaking but never again for me.
Sloppy's Joe or Hog's Breath and a pile of Key West shrimp and a cold beer is the safer route to go.
Sue

Ooooh, dark water...blue water...double-triple-quadruple shivers! I can only snorkle in crystal clear water about 4 feet deep. Gives me the illusion I'm actually in an aqarium filled with cute little fish with Bambi eyelashes. Then I love it. Baby eels, seahorses, tiny squid, angelfish, all GOOOD. Deep, blue water where the monsters lurk, BAAAAD.

Sometimes I just wade out to my knees, sit down and stick my head under to watch the things living in the eelgrass. Fascinating! And nothing over about 3" long, either!

I'll join you for the pile of shrimp and the fried grouper!
Finish it off with a frosty margarita, and I'm in heaven!

Marcia

For anyone concerned this guy is the offspring of the only known naturally occurring leucistic gators of the Louisiana bayou. If you notice no red eyes. Leucistic animals are colored white primarily with general dark pigments that appear after too much sun. Albino alligator would have the pink/red eye since there is a true lack of color (transparency). You can visit this guy in WPBch, FL at the Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park a facility I worked at for ten years.

By the way Marcia and Sue you two seem to have a lot of fun teasing each other. I could tell you stories about what is in the water (ocean) since I spent the last ten years rescuing sea turtles in the Atlantic, you really don't want to know.

I didn't mean for that last post to sound like I don't need to learn any MORE about what's in the water. Just meaning that I have seen a lot in my life, too. I'm sure there are still things I don't know about, though, and it's always interesting to learn more.

Marcia

Thanks zoozue for the info on the gator. I respect all reptiles and that's why I always give them the right of way.
That's very cool that you helped in the rescue of the sea turtles. Turtles, I don't fear and I'm glad you and so many people care enough to help them.
And I am aware what's out there lurking-at least in the Gulf. When I first moved down here in 1976 and met my soon-to-be-husband, he was a mullet fisherman along with a bunch of other guys. Seine (sp?) nets were still legal and we used to cruise just about 1/4 mile off the beach of Pass-A-Grille, drag the net in a circle and then we'd all pull it all in. There were SOOOOOOOOOOOOO many sharks, hammerheads, etc...and all of various ages that I'd swear I'd never get in the water again. I mean there were people floating around on their rafts not far inland.
I'm sure you have many stories of the sea. I guess we take our chances just getting in the car. You never know. Wherever there is the unknown, I always use caution.
Sue.
(I want to check out that gator next time I'm over on that side of the state)

I sent through the Oooops post because after I hit the button on my previous post, I realized it sounded snarkey, and I didn't mean for it to. Now I see it didn't even come THROUGH, so the Ooops post is really pointless! DUH.

Don't know WHAT happened, exactly, but have to fix supper now, so can't rewrite it at this time.

I'm tellin' ya, I'm gettin' more and more senile every day!

Marcia

Hi Marcia. I just sent you an email. Hope it worked.
Back to gators..........
Sue.

I'm going to try and talk Marcia into tubing the Rainbow River.
She does not know what she's missing.
Felix

Good luck. I'm actually surprised, what with her love for snakes...I wonder if she's as fond of pythons as she is with other legless creatures. All kidding aside, there are so many wonders out there that you never know who or what you'll run into. In my case however, I'm more comfortable in familiar surroundings. (Like my house)
Oh, and Felix, please bring your camera along if you're successful coaxing Marcia into the tubing trip.
Sue.

I think the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa has a new albino alligator exhibit. I haven't seen it yet, but that's a great zoo.

I had a neighbor that was a Florida native and he said he would rather go in a lake with the gators than in the ocean with the things that they used to catch fishing! I still love the ocean, but I'm a lot more wary of what the heck is in there with me!
Julie

Felix, I have tubed the Ichatucknee, and it is something you could not pay me to do again. I would go DOWN it, but only in my canoe! First of all, I was FROZEN solid by the end of the trip. I wore ALL my clothes, including long jeans and shirt, and still was numb with the cold. Funny thing, the AIR can't get cold enough for me. I can go outside in 25 degree weather for quite awhile before I begin to feel it. But I can't get in 72 degree water without turning blue!

Secondly, I was so scared every time the tube went close to the grassy bits where I couldn't see what was under me, I nearly died. I LOVE camping, hiking, sleeping in tents, and being ON the water in a boat or canoe. All of those things are great. But I do NOT want to be IN the water with gators, snakes, sharks, rays, piranhas, electric eels, giant groupers, stinging jellyfish, orcas, giant squid, crocodiles or anything else that is bigger than I am and loaded with sharp teeth or painful stingers.

My sense of it is I can usually take care of myself on land, but in the water, I'm out of my element and those things with "sharp pointies" are IN theirs. That gives them an advantage I don't like.

As I say, the snakes in Florida NEVER seek out people. The same can't always be said of those critters in the water.

Hooray for terra firma!

Marcia

Hey guys I did not mean to sound like I was lecturing. I do teach and sometimes forget not everybody is as serious about wildlife as I am. You guys have been a blessing, since moving here to Central Florida I am a fish out of water. No ocean ready at hand, my animal fixation limited to the wildlife in my yard and my garden has become my oasis.

After looking for work in my field and not finding any opportunities I returned to school and got another degree at age 54 that was hard enough. Now my prospects of finding work are even more limited.

If it wasn't for your antics and the garden forum and my dear friends who are far away, I would go nuts.

I didn't think you were lecturing, zoozue, but when I replied to your post with the info on leucistic vs albino, I realized as soon as I had hit the post button that it didn't sound like I meant it to, so I posted the Ooops post before I realized that the other one didn't even show up. (I probably forgot to change the subject line, and they knocked it back to me, without my noticing it.)

I was glad to be reminded of the difference. I knew it, but was using the wrong terminology because I had forgotten it. (I'm OOOOLLLLD, you know!) I had also followed the tale of the clutch in Louisiana, too, and was happy they were rescued as their chances of survival in the wild would have been dim, at best.

And as a Florida native, boy do I know what swims in our water. Hence my need for turqoise concrete around me if I'm going to be swimming. I'll take my chances on land.

The thread has been very interesting and fun, so thanks again for sharing the photo and warning.

Marcia

I am so glad to hear other people are out there like me. My husband constantly gives me a hard time because I don't go in the water because of gators and sharks, etc. I have a swimming pool. I find no reason to go into water that contains predators.

zoozue,
Thanks for posting that great picture and welcome to this cool bunch of gardeners. Their posts are very informative and sometimes a riot. ;-) (I am a lurker.)

A while ago, someone here posted a link to one of the best blogs for Florida. I cherisch this blog and the forum here as my daily dose of Floridiana.
http://pureflorida.blogspot.com/

Thanks everybody I'll check out that blog (florah), sounds like fun.