Llamas, Anyone?
by Robert Langley

Life in and on the River

By Cecilia Gill

Welcome to "Backwater Backwash", a random and incomprehensible collection of thoughts, observances and experiences in no particular order, so that it makes absolutely no sense at all.

Animal encounters in, on and near the water. We've all had them. Some are as simple and mundane as spotting a few birds or seeing some fish. Some are as spectacular and harrowing as seeing and touching a manatee or having an alligator slap the side of your boat. Any body of water can have its share of residents to encounter, from a small pond to the vast ocean.

I have been told tales of people trying to dig a stuck deer out of mud, or seeing moose in the water as they paddled by. I was told once about a fellow in Alaska who was innocently kayaking a river and went through a rapid, surprising a few bear who were fishing along the way. He never paddled during Salmon Season again, so the story goes. I've also heard pretty much the same story, but with a tragic ending.

I have learned that sometimes, when YOU see something, you probably should keep it to yourself.

Once while paddling with some friends on the San Marcos, we saw a snake swimming with a large fish in its mouth across the river. The kayaker who was closest to the snake hadn't seen him. I told him to wait for the snake to get across. Instead, he freaked, paddled blindly like a maniac, scared the snake (who dropped the fish,) flipped and rolled. "Great. You just made a snake lose its lunch. Way to go."

On a paddle to Lake Charlotte with a novice in the bow of my canoe a while back, we picked up a hitchhiker: a Shrimp Spider. All I did was say, "Hey, look at this cool little spi-..." and the girl in the front of the boat shrieked and about made us capsize! I had a hard time calming her down. Later, we got a large gray spider of some kind in the boat. I leaned down to the spider and whispered, "Be very, very quiet..."

I have learned that sometimes you see and learn new things.

I took a friend of mine to Armand Bayou to fish out of my canoe once. He caught a gar! It was the first time I had ever seen one of those prehistoric, vicious looking things up close and personal! It was terrifying! The thing managed to get itself off the hook, so we used the paddle and the net to get that thing AWAY from us and out of the boat! It was an astounding 10 inches long! I still have nightmares...

On the San Bernard, I discovered that a newly hatched, colorless crabling, no bigger than a sesame seed, is perfectly formed and can still pinch you. Also, while kayak surfing in Padre Island South Beach, I discovered that sometimes the fins sticking out of the water belong to dolphins......and sometimes they don't!

I also discovered that some ducks can be viciously territorial if you paddle too close to their nests. Of course, a vicious duck is kind of funny...

Some of the most precious animal encounters I remember having myself, others might not find all that fascinating. Like sitting in the boat under a tree, observing a Crab Spider weaving her web. Or spying on a fishing heron. Or letting minnows nibble at my legs in the water. Or watching a dog splashing in to retrieve a toy. Or seeing a mama cow and her calf standing on the bank, mooing. Nothing too exciting, but memorable all the same.

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SYOTR!