Swamp Sentinels

An excerpt from my March 11, 2015 Okefenokee nature journal:

Our boat moved slowly up the canal until reaching a larger waterway: Billy’s Lake, which stretches about 1.5 miles to the left and right. On the corner of the canal at the entry to the lake sat two very large gators, as if gatekeepers to the swamp. These impressive guardians were quite formidable and made it clear whose domain was the swamp. As we glided along the edges of Billy’s Lake, at every bend and upon every prominent log lay basking an impressive sentinel. They ruled the edges of the water. Our guide pushed the pontoon boat into one cove where sat eight alligators, half out of the water upon floating vegetation.

iNaturalist observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29977966