Each in its place

I love wild life, as many of us do. I love wildflowers and weeds. I love the ferns that grow on palms without a care. I love the moss that coaxes life out of rocks, and all that grows between our stone pavers.

But just as the moss between pavers needs to cleared out, wild creatures need to stay out of my house.

I don’t bother the lizards out in the garden, even though they make me unable to walk on the grass once I spot them. I expect the same courtesy from them to stay off my habitation!

Yes, last night, yet another lizard was watching TV with us. It was small enough for us not to have a stroke and ask our kind neighbours to help out. But I did kill it. With enough Raid to kill us too if we had stayed in the same room.

The gorgeous cardinals wake me up every morning. It is the highlight of my morning. At least one of the family says 'Hi' to me, and flies away as soon as I see it from my window (No, they are not afraid of us. The cardinal family has sat by on the hibiscus while we swim close by). Eddie (a grey stork-like bird) walks on the fence and seems to greet us when we walk out; the Sandhill cranes (named by Rasha: Albert, Alberta, and their Albertinis) have been visiting us since the first day we were here. One had scared me into the house because he kept coming closer trying to share my tea!

I love seeing the shy alligators in our lake, identifiable by their singular grunts and swim paths. Ally (our ‘wild pet') has been ‘talking’ to Rasha since he was a baby, and has saved us from a bobcat once. True story.

We have seen coyotes, a baby bobcat, a raccoon, and armadillos sauntering around in our backyard. It is quite lovely – as long as they are OUTSIDE.

A snake in the outdoor kitchen, and under our TV cabinet, lizards … too many times to count – not acceptable. The same cute armadillo in my living room?? I would be in terrified panic.

Rasha had created a story when she was toddler (she sometimes responded with a story of her own when I told her one). Something about the sun and clouds and how they each had their place and that is why we should not use flash cameras on animas in zoos. Yes, truth from the mouth of babes. That story has stayed withe me (Side note: we never used cameras at the zoo again).

So as I sit here, feeling genuinely, deeply, unequivocally grateful for the sun on the sparkling lake, do I also feel a pang of guilt for the murdered lizard?

No. I have the right to stand my ground in my home. No lizards allowed.

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