I had grabbed the washer by the handle and shifted it forward, and when I did, I heard a scuffling sound come out from underneath. I looked, and a blur ran from the newly bared spot on the floor to beneath the vaccum. Now I normally would assume that all wildlife in my condo big enough to make that kind of noise would be one of my gigantic Japanese Water Beetles (aka Roach), but even I knew immediately that the blur wasn't the right color and was also too big for that. Besides, the Beetles don't run. They just casually meander along.
So remembering the great Hummingbird episode from last year, I wasn't even worried when I picked up the vaccum. And what did I find underneath it? A lizard!
In a way, it's not surprising that it made it's way into my home. The part of Los Angeles that I live in, technically, is a desert. We just have really good irrigation, but it would look more like the land that we got lost in during our Valyermo trip last week without imported water. Also, I keep my front door open a good portion of the time that I'm home so that they boys can wander in and out at will. I'm sure that's how it (and the hummingbird before it) made it's way inside. But on the other hand, here was an appetizer all ready for Sunny to eat! That the lizard had survived this long was a miracle.
Even more miraculous, the dogs did not appear interested as I tried to chase it down. First to the right underneath the basket of dog toys, then as I reached for it, off to the left. It finally made it's way into the coat closet.
There, it's escape manuvers were for naught. I quickly shifted everything inside around and trapped it in a corner. Not that it didn't try to escape even there by running up the wall, but lizards are not immune to gravity and I caught it as it fell back to the floor.
Now that I had lizard in hand, the question became what to do with it. Should I keep it? Or let it loose outside. I have seen lizards in my courtyard before (maybe this very one) and I know it to be just stocked full of bugs, so it didn't take long to know what to do. I decided to let it loose.
It froze. Wouldn't run. It took quite a bit of prompting on my part to get it out of it's stupor and back into action. Whereupon it ran underneath a bush.
Now that it's gone, though, I'm worried about my course of action. Should I have relased it? Or maybe it was somebody's pet and made it's way into my condo because it was looking for a new home. But I guess it's too late for second thoughts now. It's gone. And certainly I wouldn't expect Sunny to leave any small animals in the interior of our home uneaten for long.
* * * * * * * I'm always on the lookout for new foods to try. I scour my Farmers Market every weekend for different and exotic foods. Since the vendors there don't change often, though, and I have been attending at the same location for several years, it's not that often I see new things to try. But of course, there's always opportunity at Trader Joe's.
Last night I saw Rambutan for the first time. I can't even start to describe it. That's why I love the web. Sometimes the old saying A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words" is true. Look for yourself.
When sliced open, the hairy skin reveals a white nut-like fruit on the inside.
The fruit is easily removed from the skin.
And when you eat it, it's almost like eating a large cherry without a skin. I do like trying new things.
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