Pentad’s Weblog

Blimey! I need a break. FDA and USDA this, and Texan lawmakers that. I need a break from my own informative ranting. Do you ever just need to “be”? I do. That’s when I go right-brain, which is my safety-zone as a misfit lefty in a righty-world. My spell-check just attempted to change that to “rightly”. Righty just got added to my dictionary.

I went looking for the alligators this morning. We live on kind of a, well not really a lake, but a swampy channel. We have alligators that swim past early in the morning, and it must be too cold as I haven’t seen them for awhile. I’m still getting used to the ebb-and-flow of Texan nature. Anyhow, they were nowhere in sight, and I kind of miss their company.

Ever play peek-a-boo with baby alligators? I have, and it’s a hoot. Yes, I fully concur that my right-brain tendency to communicate with the critters around me is corny anthropomorphism, yet it’s easy to become a nutty Doolittle when living in quiet solitude. When you have little lizards living in your flower pots, they easily become, “Baby Brown”, and “Mr. Green”. At first they sprint when spoken to. After awhile, they just sit there, cock their heads, and stare. Best darned audience I’ve ever had. They don’t yawn, as does my spouse.

Anyhow. It’s easy to get used to them, and easy to miss them when they’re gone. Well, Ok. It did get a little busy in my backyard for some time. I was burying every little thing that croaked. Rose petals in the graves, and the whole ten yards. I had to stop that practice. After a few months of this I learned that I wasn’t the only ex-pat over here being a nut. Another ex-pat came out early in the morning, and there was a pretty big medium-sized lizard sleeping peacefully on his car. He found himself speaking out loud apologizing that he really did have to disturb and start up the car, as he had to get to work. Another individual was daily out in her pool, swimming with their local frog. Swimming side by side in the early morning sun.

Back to the alligators. The grown alligators kind of keep middle stream. They could care less as long as the sun is warming them. They make their daily rounds, and don’t pay much attention to me, the gawking human standing down on the landing. However, the babies will swim right up in front of me, curious little Georges that they are. They then remain still and just stare. Ever have a staring contest with a baby alligator? Don’t count on winning. Although curious, they are their instinctive little selves. If I move, they duck under the water until only their eyes can be seen. Still staring. When I stand still long enough, they come up. Then I move, and they duck. Up and down. Just like a child the game continues until I leave the landing. I’ve never experienced them swimming away first.

It’s quite refreshing to have those little “being” moments when the mind needs to rest, and heart-warming to have those moments in interaction with other living little beings. It’s amazing how we notice new things previously unknown when we travel, or live in a new place. Especially when we become blind to the environments in which we usually reside. In strange and humble manners, we learn to interact with the novelty. Good weekend to you all!

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