Just when you thought it was safe to go into the water… Cue the Jaws music! Our lake doesn’t feature great whites although along the Atlantic coast of Florida you can be bitten by your choice of any of the aptly named spinning shark, bull shark, sand shark, or tiger shark.

But our lake’s tranquil waters occasionally show the passage of two eyes and the upper part of a snout. We have an alligator infestation.

Well, not quite an infestation. Currently, only one three-footer (referring to his length from nose to tail and not the number of actual feet!). Whenever an alligator grows to over six feet in length, it’s deemed “unsafe” and relocated. Hopefully not into someone’s backyard.

Even a glimpse of our little fellow still in residence makes me walk a lot faster. Alligators as an exercise incentive. Who knew?