February 26, 2010

Crossing paths

Crossing paths


When we first got to the Sunshine State, I kept taking photos of every palm tree and alligator I saw. The palm trees seemed so exotic to me. And the alligators!  The first time I saw one, I was on a boardwalk, out of its reach.  But then we started seeing them everywhere, lying sleepily along paths that we were walking along, or swimming in drainage ditches.  Once I got used to the alligators, it was easy to think of them as harmless logs, and I had to keep reminding myself to be mindful. 

Because I’m used to hiking in woods without poisonous snakes or any kind of predator that can hurt humans, I have a tendency to be oblivious when I’m walking along.  I was parking my bike outside a nature trail in one parking lot when a teenage girl called over to me, “Stop!  You don’t want to park your bike there.” I hadn’t even noticed the huge alligator stretched behind some of the other bikes. I might have rolled my bike right into him if she hadn’t stopped me. 

Later that day, we stopped for a turtle that was crossing the road. At the sound of our car, the turtle immediately pulled into its shell, stopped right in the middle of the pavement. I scooped it up and took into the nearest pond, climbing down under the trees and putting it into the water. As it swam away, I thought to myself, “I should have checked for alligators first.” Of course, I should have thought of that BEFORE climbing down the bank. 

I wonder, if I had grown up in a landscape with alligators and poisonous snakes, if I would have learned to be more mindful, more observant, more aware. 

11 comments:

Lomagirl said...

I was very mindful growing up- we check the other side of logs for snakes before we stepped over them. If they were very large, that meant stepping onto them to look. The alligators were small and harmless, mostly, though I believe someone who got too close to a nest was once chased, swimming, through the water. We used to go alligator (caimon) hunting at night- not to kill them, but just to see their red eyes glow in the light from our flashlights.
There were also very painful ants- huge, with brightly covered spots on their backs, and scorpions, so we had to shake out our shoes befoer putting them on.

Cathy said...

Yes you would have been more mindful! And if you weren't, someone would remind you to be!

Jennifer (ponderosa) said...

I think you're mindful. It's how I'd describe your whole blog, actually. You just haven't learned to think of logs as potentially being alligators which might eat you, is all.

concretegodmother said...

yikes! look at the belly on that thing! very cool, but...yikes!

Digger said...

That is One Fat Alligator! And I second what Jennifer said.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

good point!!!

I like a relatively safe world! LOL!

Kind of scary to think you could wander to you death--or to a terrible maiming.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

You are very mindful within your own world.

I've heard people criticizing others for not noticing things when they are completely oblivious to stuff themselves. It's a matter of focus, and you would need to redirect yours somewhat if you lived there.

anonymous blog reader said...

Or you would have been culled out.

Anonymous said...

Gators are pretty harmless. I've ridden my bike right in front of one before and it barely moved. Also they are nearly blind, they go by sense of smell. If it's mating season (springtime) or if they are startled by something swimming or a small animal like a dog they can get agitated. If you see a gator remember YOU are in ITS turf, so YOU need to learn to co-exist. The fear and paranoia I am reading, leads to the needless destruction of these creatures. They LOOK scary. But there's really very little to be afraid of folks.

Jennifer said...

*shudder* Alligators creep me out in a really primitive, visceral way. I've got the heeby-jeebies now.

rented life said...

super late in catching up on reading. You got some AWESOME shots on your trip. I really enjoy your photos, so thank you.

In Sunshine State husband and I were traveling along (in a car) and saw an alligator on the side of the road. They are so still you almost don't notice them! I, too, got obsessed with taking photos of the greenery down there, so different than up North!