I was cleaning the pool this morning when I suddenly noticed this.

Creature Was Not the Threat I Had Imagined

The identification brought enormous relief.

The rat-tailed maggot was not the dangerous parasite I had feared.

It was not an alien-looking invader capable of harming anyone who entered the pool.

It was the larva of a harmless hoverfly.

After spending so much time imagining worst-case explanations, the reality felt continue reading …