My parents were in town the last couple of days for an action-packed visit to Charleston. We ate seafood, pancakes, and Greek food, we watched Mission Impossible III, and the most exciting part: we took a walk through the Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation. The weather couldn't have been nicer--here's dad enjoying a sunny swamp view.
And then, there they were--alligators! I'd gotten thoroughly excited every time we saw even a turtle, but this place was loaded with alligators. One was sunning on a specially designed alligator resting platform. At first we thought she was a fake, but then we saw that her feet were wet, and Eagle-Eye Kelly Piepmeier noticed her close her eye. Other alligators were just swimming around. These were some sizeable alligators--five and six feet long, probably.
And so what's the logical thing to do when you see an alligator resting in the marsh grasses just off the path you're walking on? Poke it with a stick, of course. I don't know that Biffle actually touched the alligator, but he certainly annoyed it, and it splashed and swam away.
(The redneck's last words, by the way, were, "Hey, man--watch this!")
Later we went to the beach. Here's the official Baxter Sez Mother's Day photo.
10 years ago
11 comments:
Walter! You never disturb the wildlife! :)
Love the photo of you and Kelly - it looks like you're having a blast.
love,
C
i did not "disturb" the wildlife. i merely poked it with a stick. big difference.
Wow...what good pictures! And, yes, Zane, we did have a good time! It was just too short, so we've already decided we're staying longer next time.
I love the picture of your dad, Alison. It looks even better than it did in the camera. I'll have to try to print it off of some of my photo paper.
Walter, good luck in the last steps of getting your MFA, and we'll see you soon. Oh, and remember that one of you needs to give us another idea for a gift - either birthday or graduation.
Love, The Mom
Yea Walter and Alison
We had a great time. Not only did we get to see alligators, eat some great food, walk on the beach, watch MI 3 and see the Deez but we also got to see Alison's android tooth (part human - part machine).
I may have to find a spot for it on my "List of Constant Facts".
See you soon
The Dad
What an adorable Mother's Day picture and post :)
AP and Biffle, I miss youuuuu!
Hope all is well down in Charleston.
AND: Biffle, I'm sorry. I mean no offense when I say your posts are quite long and that I have trouble with them. Honestly, I ahve zero attention span, I can't even pay attention to what I'm writing
I love "merely poked it [an alligator] with a stick". It reminds me of Pandora saying "I just opened the box". There's something about human nature that likes to poke things that may or may not unleash the furies of Nature...
Synopsis of comment from the other day that didn't make it through: Once Jeremy stepped on an alligator's head in his backyard without realizing it until a friend told him. Seems his Florida subdivision encroached on alligator territory.
And, "poking" any person/thing with a stick constitutes "disturbing."
Sounds like a great weekend! Good luck with all the final thesis stuff, Walter (I'm not too late to say that, am I?)
-deandra
Gators clamp their jaws at a several hundred lbs. per sq. inch. That's enough to snap a human leg or arm in many pieces. A lion's bite is about 400 lbs. per sq. inch, if that helps give perspective.
Animal Planet Addict
alright. enough already with the warnings about pokin' alligators with sticks.
i've said it before, and i'll say it again: It Is My Job to Poke Alligators With a Stick. God put me here on earth to poke alligators with sticks.
that's a good job title.
I love the mother's day photo. Love it.
I've nudged small children into that lake for throwing things at gators in their home territory. Still missing a couple of Canadian nephews in fact.
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