Still Searching for an Alligator

I woke up this morning to sun shining in my window, blue skies, and birds singing. It reminded me of spring, but I'm not sure it really qualifies as spring yet, even here, because I think these birds winter here. I am still watching for spring.

I rode my bicycle around the campground area this morning for a while. Chorro is not too adept yet at following along on the leash while I ride, so he stayed home, thinking, I am sure, that he would wait until I was well balanced on the bike before he ran beside me. I promised him a good hike later on though.

In the meantime, I spent the morning on the computer. I am taking an on-line class called New Brain Frontiers. It is fascinating and I am learning some extremely interesting things.

Here's an article that describes how one man recovered from a stroke that destroyed nerve cells in 97% of his brain. The healthy 3% actually learned to do what the rest of the brain had been doing before the stroke. It's exciting to think that all of our old ideas about the brain being formed at an early age and not able to change were wrong and that there is great hope for recovery from brain damage.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010901/bob14.asp

Another thing I learned is that certain learnings tend to be consolidated in their own areas in the brain. What this means in terms of an addiction is that all the behaviors associated with the addiction consolidate, but the area also spreads as more and more behaviors become associated with the addiction. Addiction recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Radiant Recovery actually make changes in the brain that free up big areas of nerve cells, making it likely that new learnings will take place. Isn't that cool? So if you have an addiction, find the appropriate recovery program and then go and learn a new language. You will have space for it.

When we walked this afternoon, we found a pecan tree that had shed its nuts and gathered up a small bag of them. Now to shell them, which apparently is a job one needs to perform twice. Outer shell, inner shell. Then some of them will go in tomorrow morning's oatmeal, along with my new Indian spice from Atlanta's World Farmer's Market, which is very tasty in oatmeal.

On our walk we came to this bayou.



It's apparently home to some alligators, based on this sign.


I think I am looking for something that looks like a mostly submerged log. How will I know if this is a log or an alligator? I think I won't. Alligator or submerged log?


Here's another possible alligator pond.


Don't you think that log on the far right side could be an alligator?


Yes, it could!


I was excited to actually find an alligator and to find it was far enough away that I didn't have to be scared of it biting my toes (which have not yet recovered from fire ant bites) or my puppy dog. Needless to say, my puppy dog was happy about that too.

My sunshine pictures were not so spectacular, especially after shooting an alligator, but I'll share my best one with you anyway.

Dinner after such a successful day needed to be special, so I fixed brown and wild rice with stir fry vegetables and garlic fresh Gulf shrimp! I wish you could have joined me. Very tasty.

And tomorrow is a new day.