Life in a zoo?

June 17, 2007

I have begun to feel as if my home or at least the front porch is a zoo. I thought that when I left Black Rock, I might be done with caring for and cleaning up after animals, such as I did for many years in the Nature Center. Ironically some of those same animals now inhabit my house and porch. Last Thursday evening Cindy and I were having our Bible Study when all of a sudden she said, “What was that?” There, under the table was a small tail sticking out from behind the surge protector. I was actually quite relieved to see that it was only a small mouse – the cute kind with the big eyes. I had heard more than enough about rats and cockroaches the size of mice that I could be thankful for just a mouse. We tried to shoo it out but were unsuccessful so for the moment it still resides somewhere inside.

The porch on the other hand is a party each evening when the lights go on. A pair of cane toads, Fred and Elsie, (there is an interesting documentary about how cane toads have affected Australia) show up each evening, probably to hunt the myriad of insects that also gather. The cane toads can reach 20cm in size and seem to almost hiss when you try to shoo them away from the door with a broom. They have glands just behind their eyes that secrete defensive poisons which can irritate if absorbed through open cuts. The insects include large beetles, moths, wasps, and praying mantises. A smaller toad (I am calling Eggbert) also wanders on to the porch from time to time. Then of course there are the geckos, both in and out of the house.

Tradition continues in that wherever I travel, I seem to find the ticks (or they find me). My nickname of “tick magnet” still holds true. Apparently the ticks were not as plentiful here until I arrived. I feel bad for everyone else too. Thankfully the ticks here do not carry Lyme’s Disease so I am better off in that sense.

And finally I am in the middle of a battle with termites. They create long tunnels with dirt that run up the walls. I had ignored them for a while but realized that I needed to start bulldozing the tunnels and so I did. But every time I re-enter the house, a new tunnel (in the same place) is under construction. I think that I am finally winning though they have been very persistent. Perhaps they are finally giving up. I know it’s bad though because I have started to dream about insects.

I have found some more exciting insects out in nature (where they belong), one of which you can see here. Finding out the specific names of the various insects is proving challenging because of the limited resources that I have. I have a lot of internet research to do someday when it is possible.