fearing something tragic has happened to his klutz of a little sister, i ran out to see what had happened this time! i look and Ivy is playing sweetly in a patch of clover flowers seemingly unharmed.
i sigh a breath of relief. then turn my attention back to this little sprite of a boy, wondering what would cause him to scream for me with such haste? i didn't have a chance to ask, before the words came spilling out of his mouth! " a lizard mom! i saw a lizard on the wall you have to catch it mom! can you help me catch it?!!"
i see the little creature basking in the sunshine of this beautiful morning trying to warm up on our concrete block wall.
tickled, as i remembered the many lizard hunts of my youth, i told William to keep an eye on him while i prepared the equipment needed for such an adventure...with socks slipped over my hands and a small plastic cage that was often used to home the critters and bugs, my adventurous little hunters would find. i was greeted with giggles and excitement as the kids fallowed close behind...
William pointed out that it still hadn't moved from its original location and we tipped toed closer and closer. the little lizard tilted his head as if he were just as curious about us, as William was of him... then before i could even raise my hand the little thing jetted into the flower vines that drape over the wall! "oh man!" William mutters in disappointment. "i thought you were good at this mom!"
laughing and just a wee bit offended by the comment i retorted "well its been a while and we just need to be patient and wait for the right moment" a few minutes pass and we spot him again... slowly inching towards him i try to navigate my hands around the tangle of vines and blossoms but the sock catches on a stem and sends the lizard deeper into the foliage, not to return again until several moments later, when we spot him perfectly camouflaged as a hanging twig....
my heart is racing as i once again make a go for him, as my hands get closer and closer, i decide i had better move quick. so in one big scoop i grab at him cupping his body against the wall and awkwardly balled up in to my makeshift glove! William howls!!" you got him! you got him!"
the adrenaline of victory rushing through the both of us!... but wait why isn't he struggling to get away? fearing.... i might have hurt the poor creature i open my palm to reveal, i dried up old dead lizard! ugggg... what to do now???
i have victoriously caught a dead lizard ~ and would now have to explain to 2 very distraught children that the lizard mom had just caught would not make the "fantastic" pet they were hoping for... :(
how ever, they got over the fact that he was dead rather quickly, and were thrilled to explore the skeleton up close and hypothesize over how it might have died....William very convinced stated... "i think it was a hunch back! look at how its back is all curvy. it must have not been able to run fast enough, and catch food... look! you can see his ribs, poor guy. must have been so hungry" and Ivy soberly agreed.
then William thought up a game... we should have a lizard funeral! he quickly grabbed his shovel and picked a shady spot under our funky tree and started to dig.. Ivy picked some lovely blossoms and as we laid him to rest, talked of all the fun times he must be having in lizard heaven. and how he would have been such a marvelous pet if we had only caught him sooner.
1 comment:
Fun! I remember catching lizards at your house. And having dead animal burials as well...especially Buddy's funeral, complete with a shoe box coffin.
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