THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER

THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER

You Never Know What You’re Going to See

Being born under the sign of Taurus, I am under the influence of the earthly elements: water, fire, air, and naturally, earth. Even now as a senior citizen, I love having my windows open to allow the fresh air to filter in the house while a small stack of wood crackles in the fireplace and I listen to the roar of thunder as the sky dumps down buckets of rain to dampen the soil. There is just something magically special about nature.

Maybe that’s why I love living on waterfront property. It’s magical. You just never know what you’re going to see as you stare mesmerized at the water, its waves, and whatever decides to swim by.

The house where I’ve been living for the past twenty-plus years has a canal that sits about twenty-five feet from my backdoor. My little, narrow canal is fed on the east by a river and on the west by the Gulf. It’s neither fresh water nor salt. It’s called Brackish. It’s what happens when salt water and freshwater mix. While salty in nature, it doesn’t hold the same salt quantity as seawater. Yet, even so, the small amount of salt that is found in it renders the water in this estuary undrinkable.

While we’re surrounded on two sides by this undrinkable liquid, there’s no denying that it almost constantly offers us a massive dose of amusement.

For instance, many of our neighbors, during the course of the years placed fish lights at their respective docks (yes, us included).

A “fish light” is a large waterproof, clear bulb attached to a waterproof cable which, at night and the help of the house electrical current gets illuminated into a soft green glowing orb. The bulb doesn’t really turn green, but the brackish water seems to make the color of the bulbs turn green.

Fish of many species are drawn to the green glow and warmth of the large light.

Often, we’d sit on our dock and watch the fish swim around the green neon illumination. It’s like having our own outdoor aquarium. When I say it’s awesome, that’s a mild statement.

Day or night, several aquatic species will entertain us as they swim past our house. It’s common to see the Jack Cravalles in abundance since they’re after their mullet meal. Small pods of dolphin will swim and jump their way in and out of our canal during their search for ladyfish. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Oh, and let’s not forget the alligators. Beginning every first day of May and ending the last day of June, it’s not unusual to espy an alligator looking for food. They need to keep up their strength; after all, it’s their mating season. (All the duck flocks in the area have learned to swim elsewhere during this time.) Most owners of small dogs have learned the sad way not to leave their little pets alone in their yards during those months. Yes, with alligators when they want food, they let nothing stand in their way.

However, amusingly, we’ve seen the fierce, yet beautiful mating dance of the sting rays. Since our water teeters on the salty side, we’ve had bull sharks wander in. They seem to love the brackish water.

While we have to watch out for the high tides which can bring the canal water almost to the backdoor, it’s still a magnificent site whenever something odd happens.

Yes, as I said, living at the water’s edge is truly a magical place to be.

Just the other day, my phone rang. It was a bright, warm, sunny Sunday in March. My friend and her husband had decided to have their breakfast outside on their lanai. I picked up my phone and looked at the caller ID. “Hi, Foxy (yes, that’s my friend’s nickname). Happy Sunday. What’s …”

Before I could finish my sentence, she almost screamed in the phone, “If you’re not outside, get their FAST and bring your camera!”

“Huh,” I started, “What’s …” Just as quickly as she screamed for me to get outside, she ended the call.

“What’s going on?” my husband asked.

I told him what Foxy said and ran into the bedroom to grab my camera. I still had no idea what I was about to try and capture but I was ready. Or at least I thought I was.

Looking up and down the canal, I saw nothing. I looked across the canal at the other backyards, there was still nothing to see. Then all of a sudden, I heard a huge splash.

“There! There!” my husband yelled. “Do you see it? Turn on your camera!”

I pressed the “on” button. Nothing! I tried again. Then I saw the little red light indicating “dead battery.”

“Oh darn!” I said aloud. “The battery’s dead.”

With that I missed the once-in-a-lifetime shot of a real-life … (are you ready for this?) Mermaid!

Yes, that’s right. There was a mermaid in our canal. In the twenty-plus years we lived here, this was a first and I prayed it wouldn’t be the last.

But, as I said, living on the water’s edge, you never know what you’re going to see.