Lizards hang out in our front entryway/patio. I imagine they are lured by the swarms of insects that our porch light attracts like a cheap whore.
Sometimes the lizards venture indoors. One eluded PK and scurried into the front hall closet. I figured it would find our coats and papers uninteresting and scurry back outdoors where the living is easier.
A few months ago, I saw that a lizard had met an unfortunate end on our doorstep. Its head was flattened between the bottom of the door and the door jamb. I guess it picked the wrong moment to rush the door.
The missionaries dropped by a couple of weeks ago. As they were leaving, the door didn't seem to close as easily as usual. The next morning when I went to get the mail, I left the door open a crack. When I came back from the mailbox, I saw a splotch of something where the inside edge of the door met the frame.
Closer investigation revealed another dead lizard, completely smashed by the closed door. I scraped the victim off the door frame with a copy of a Spanish newspaper the previous owners never cancelled. Poor sap. That's not a nice way to go.
Mike says he'll plaster up the cracks in the brick from whence lizards emerge. I don't begrudge them wanting to be someplace nicer, someplace cooler, but I hate that so many of them die in their attempts to cross the border.
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4 comments:
My sister said she had a similar problem with geckos getting smashed in door and window jambs when she lived in Hong Kong. She did say, though, that geckos were a permanent fixture in many homes and apartments, including her own. The reasons folks kept them around: the keep down the bugs and roaches and flying insects that were ubiquitous in those parts.
Perhaps having a lizard or two isn't a bad idea... At least they aren't spiders or snakes.
ditto for Thailand, we used to have the cutest little geckos climbing all over our walls, even though we were on the 10th floor of our building. Reading your post brought back memories of our welcome little guests....
Mary Ellen,
It sounds like you've discovered Hemidactylus turcicus--the Mediterranean Gecko. Having them around the house is definitely a good omen. (Squished in the door frame--bad juju.)
Scott
Don't want the bad juju, so I'll have to check the door frame more carefully when I close it. Especially during lights-on/feeding time.
I have a book called Animal-Speak that describes the spiritual & magical powers ascribed to various animals and birds. Lizards signify heightened sensitivity and subtlety of perception. So if there's a sqaushed lizard/gecko in my doorjamb, I wonder: does that mean the opposite?
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