There appears to be something very strange going on in my backyard. This morning I awoke to find the valve box lid on our sprinkler system had come off and was lying beside the valve box. I figured some armadillo or something must have uprooted it, and I went to put it back on. As I neared the valve box, however, I found it full of water. That's unusual. Furthermore, it appeared to be bubbling, as if something living was inside. I cautiously bent down to peer into the water. All I could see, at first, were mosquito larva twisting and turning about. Then, at the very moment that I realized the face of a small creature had risen to the surface and was staring back at me, it darted back down again. I jumped with a scream. It all happened so quickly that I never did see what it was. It appeared to be maybe reptilian more than amphibian, but I can't be sure. The monster hasn't
surfaced since my one sighting.Any ideas what this could be? A tiny eel? A baby sturgeon? Perhaps a miniature plesiosaur? I don't know, but I DO know it wasn't a duck or a log. I'm not exactly sure how deep our valve box is, but clearly it's deep enough to hide this creature. I'm not about to fish around in there until I know more about it. Richie is out of town. When he gets home, I'm going to solicit his help. Until then, there is definitely a puddle monster of some kind in my valve box. I've attached some pics of the puddle and of the lid lying beside it. I may never get a pic of the creature, but I took one of me by the puddle, to say I've been there. Sorry for the poor quality -- the camera just wasn't cooperating when I tried to take the pics.
Sooo...a lizard or salamander perhaps? Even a stray frog might match the sketchy description.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling if you had been a young boy rather than a girl your first reaction would be to catch it rather than to scream and turn away. Then you would have gone around chasing the girls with it. I know that's a horribly sexist thing to say but it's been my experience.
Best Wishes, Dale D.
Hmmm. I guess I am not very good at getting a joke across online.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a frog. The only thing that irritates me is that I CAN'T catch it. I guess leopard frogs are really shy. The large toad that hangs around our house is a more personable.
My previous comment about getting a joke across online made no sense. I was half asleep when I read your comment, Dale, and misread it entirely -- hence my nonsensical reply. lol. Sorry.
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