Neighbor texted me this morning, "David, there's a gator on your lanai."

Looked out the kitchen window and didn't see anything, so I went out to the screened enclosure and it was up on the step leading to the grill, out of my line of sight from the kitchen window. When my neighbor saw it, it was in her yard making its way to the patio.

Not a huge gator, maybe four feet long? But not something I wanted hanging around the yard.

Mitzi was just getting ready to go mow the lawn, so I had to step back to the garage and give her a heads-up. I put on my Timberland boots and grabbed a push-broom. Figured I'd just encourage it to head back into the swamp.

Well, it wanted to fight the push-broom. Thought about it, then decided to see if maybe water from the garden hose would have the desired effect with less stress on both the gator and me.

Back to the garage to recover the garden hose. Keeping one eye on the gator, who was keeping both eyes on me, I had to untangle the hose and connect it to the bib. Turned the water on and commenced to hosing my uninvited guest. Seemed to do the trick far better than the broom. I worried that it'd find it just a refreshing amenity. Chased it all the way back into the swamp.

Hopefully it stays there, but I don't expect this will be the last time we'll be dealing with gators. The "preserve" behind the house is a swamp, and they were here long before we were. I think if it was anything much bigger, I'd probably call for some professional help.