Thanks you two! Now that I've zoomed way in on my second photo I see there are both Nelumbo (Lotus) and Nymphaeas (Water Lilies) in the pond.
Tiffany: That wasn't a pond in the wild but rather a water garden at Balboa Park in San Diego. I don't think gators are found in California, so no gators or snakes either in that water garden ... only turtles, koi fish and the lovely lotus and lilies. I can't wait to go back to San Diego again to visit family friends and we will definitely go back to Balboa Park again!
