July 30th

I was anxious to see the Chinese Domestic Geese family and went straight toward the Landing. I was so relieved to see the mother goose sitting under the Bald Cypress tree while her young and the father goose were picking the grasses near her. When I approached her, the young goose and father came beside her as if they were protecting her, stretched their necks toward her and softly quacked. The mother goose also stretched her neck toward them. I was glad that she was all right and that she could swim here with her family this morning.

I saw two Yellow-Crowned-Night Herons fly over the lawn in front of the diving facility. I thought that they were the juvenile herons. As soon as the young Yellow-Crowned-Night Heron that was hunting in the middle of the barrier, saw the two, she flew up and followed them toward the river.

A Blue-Throated Hummingbird and a butterfly with black wings and white dots along the sides were busy collecting honey from the Firebush. The hummingbird was zooming from flower to flower, but the butterfly perched on each tubular flower, thoroughly collecting the honey. The contrast of its black wings with white dots with the red/orange flowers was attractive.

I saw footprints coming out from under the bridge at the boardwalk exit. From the shape of the footprints, I knew they were from Nutria. The footprints were molded with mud indicating that the animal was doing something in the mud last night.

At the diving preparation site besides the Landing, the divers started setting up a tent, and bringing their diving gear around the green picnic tables. The parents of a diver were strolling around the lake waiting to see their son dive during his lesson.

A lady instructor started her diving lesson on the lawn in front of the diving facility. Five teenage divers-to-be were lining up excitedly with their equipment and following the instructor on how to use the equipments.

At the outdoor wooden corridor at the Landing, a pair of certified divers was examining their oxygen tanks. They were aiming to dive at the deepest site in the lake.