What lies beneath…
What lurks below…
What creature swims within…
Beware…
For it might catch you unaware…
And scoop you into that big gaping hole of a mouth…
Then disappear silently to the depths below….
(This fountain is at Hornsby Bend, one of the best birding spots in all of Texas. Subtle ripples in the duckweed alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t alone.)
Cute blog entry! Is that duckweed? When you zoom in on it like that, it looks like little soybeans floating around (shelled of course!). Great shots of the mystery mouth!!
He’s not silly. That pond weed is great protection from the birds.
What was it Meredith??? A FISH??? Creepy!!!
Donna, yes, it’s duckweed. I think it’s beneficial in some areas and invasive in others, but other than that I don’t know too much about it. According to wiki, it’s also known as water lentils — very appropriate!
Missy, you are right about that! Without some sort of cover, those fish would have been gobbled up by any of the migratory birds that pass through at Hornsby Bend.
Ramona– yep, some sort of fish. I couldn’t ever tell whether they were koi or big goldfish. The way their backs stirred the duckweed as they swam just under the surface was both really cool and rather creepy — like a sea monster! But obviously I enjoyed letting my imagination go wild. I’m sure they were very cute!
I always love your photos! Fun post – all the ponds here are very frozen.
Thanks, Matt — but remember, somewhere beneath those ponds’ frozen surfaces, somethingS lurk below, too!
Ugh, creepy. Loved the post and how you captured this “creature”. I almost felt like I was watching a version of Jaws ;0)
Try being there in person — I was admiring the duckweed when I realized there all these big mouths around me. I definitely had a momentary chill pass through me…
What a great post. I loved following the sequence of photos to find out what was under there. How fun to see his big mouth open like that!