Everyone loves a story. I recently revisited a collection of stories my father wrote. He grew up living next door to Ross Allen, naturalist extraordinaire, and gives a good bit of credit to him for his love of nature which he in turn passed down to generations.   He had stories of alligators and I was reminded of one of my own happening during my elementary school years.   My family owns a cabin in NW FL on a piece of property we call "The Swamp" which has an open body of water where we would fish and swim (that is another story).   There had appeared a rather large gator in the swamp. Due to safety concerns of swans, dogs, and kids, it was captured for transferring to another lake. As shared in previous stories, my 8-sibling herd was transported in the family Land Rover. As we loaded for school the next morning, much to our surprise, that gator was stretched out on the floorboard of the middle seat. When asked what we were to do with our feet, my father said, "Just put them on top of the gator." Taking it in stride but also taking no chances, we propped them up on the seat-back ahead. Stories are our legacy to be shared and passed down. Who will share your stories? 

Wishing you the blessings of spring's renewal this Easter season ~

      Carrie