Today's Picture to Ponder Photos
Reflections of Baby Alligators in Water in an Aquarium in Green Cay Nature Center, Boynton Beach, FL - The bottom photo includes a baby on a structure and a reflected one on top of the water.

I was, and am, captivated by the reflections I saw of the underwater alligators as I looked through the glass of this aquarium. Rather than the usual upside down image reflection to which I am accustomed in water, here the "reverse" image is above, rather than below, the subject.

The added fascination for me is that in both the top and middle photos the alligator and reflection appear more as one unit rather than as separate segments. The colors and textures are about equal, very different from the reflection of the smaller alligator seen in the bottom photo.

Contributing to the aesthetic element are the structures within the aquarium created specifically for these alligators.

The Story
Green Cay Nature Center is devoted to education and preserving the environment. Thinking that some of you might have a concern for the alligators, before completing today's issue of Picture to Ponder, I called and spoke to a Naturalist at the Center to get more information on the "babies".

The alligators we see here have been brought in from an Alligator Farm. They are approximately one year old and will stay at Green Cay for another year or two until they get too large for that environment. They will then be sent back to the Alligator Farm where they will continue to be hand fed.

Usually my interest in Green Cay is walking on the boardwalk, luxuriating in visual discoveries, very often as found in the sunsets so many of you love when they are featured here in Picture to Ponder.

I rarely go into the building unless it's to take out-of-town visitors or attend a Palm Beach Poetry Festival's "Bards of a Feather" quarterly poetry reading. So it was an added and exciting treat for me to make the discovery I share here in today's photographs. I was with my guests and had the joy of their sharing in my excitement when I pointed out my observations.

Today's Self-Reflecting Queries
I stated above that ordinarily I don't "bother" stopping into the Nature Center when I go to Green Cay. I assume I already "know" what's there and I won't find anything particularly new that will interest me. And, of course, as we've read above, when I went in and looked with "new" and "open" eyes I found something that did get me quite excited. Perhaps, it will also result in new openings for you.

Today I invite you to look around in your world at the places where you usually spend time at work or home. It could be en route to a customary location or even in the supermarket. Pause to find something you've never noticed before or something you can look at in a new way. Then spend a moment or two simply "being" with this.

What is it you are seeing "newly" AND what is the feeling of that experience for you? Describe it to yourself. Perhaps you'd like to share it with another.

Then I invite you to look at one or more situations in your life that you have been taking for granted. Is there anything you've learned from the above that you can now transfer to the situation(s)?

As always, when you're finished, I invite you to share your experience on the blog. See the instructions below if you need help.

And do have fun with this today.