This post may get a little red neck with guns, alligator talk, and some southern drawls. Don't say I didn't warn ya. So, this is my re-cap of my weekend visiting home, in Louisiana. My parents live in a swamp, literally. They have alligators, snapping turtles, fish, manatees, black tip sharks, snakes, egrets, and scary spiders all around them. In fact, just last night my Mom called to tell me she saw a baby alligator in our driveway, which is totally rare for them to come up that far onto land, but I guess the babies are stupid. When people talk to me about being from Louisiana, the most common question I get is... Do you live in the swamp and do you have alligators in your backyard? Then I answer "I do" and I immediately regret my answer. That question is usually followed by "Do you know the swamp people?" Then I've learned my lesson from question #1 and usually fib and say "No, I don't know them" Hoping they go away at this point, since I've made myself out to be "Mama Helen Boucher" from The Waterboy. You'd be surprised by how many people in this world are fascinated with their lives. I live/lived nothing like them okay, let me just clear this all up.
While at home this weekend, I got to enjoy my parents house and of course...the wildlife that comes along with it. I should have taken more pictures, but I enjoyed being laissez faire and kicking back. I did happen to make some big movements and hop out of my reclining chair when my Mom spotted one of the most ginormous alligators we've ever seen. I clearly forgot that this was normal when I lived at home in high school and part of college, so I ran out in my bare feet (baaad idea) and ran for the dock to get a better view of this giant. He was big, like 8-9 footer. Although I didn't have my zoom lens, so the picture above gives no justice at all to his/her size.
Then, my husband, Joel, decided he wanted to remember the old days and he went and grabbed my Dad's pellet gun. They both took some shots at him, but never even hit him once... Even if you do hit them, their skin in SO thick they don't even feel it. But, my favorite part from when I lived at home was catching them with a fishing pole. Yes, I've done this, and it's really fun. Alligators are really dumb and actually go for bait, once they take it, it's time to have some fun with trying to reel them closer and get a better look. Alligators rarely come close to humans unless you're a baby or small dog. So, when they take the bait and you can get them in close, it's neat to see these monsters up close and in person. Then, they usually break the line, go free, and the cycle starts all over again.
Mom still gets excited and she lives here full time :)
I didn't take too many photos, but I think this gives you a good idea of how I spent my weekend.
Also, my fellow Louisiana girl and long time friend, Mary, is doing a giveaway on her blog, and you could win some pretty cool stuff, including an Ad space from my blog. So go and check it out!!
