This place is alive. More than any other place I’ve been. There are creatures everywhere. I’ve never felt so apart of nature…just another living, breathing part of things. They so outnumber us that it is tough to feel like we have a greater right to be here. While washing the dishes, I just look out at all the activity – little geckos, lizards, bugs running purposefully everywhere. So busy. So intent on their jobs. I wonder what kind of coffee they drink?
Some creatures I prefer to greet after they are done breathing, though…like the cockroach I found at the bottom of the washing machine after moving all the clothes to the dryer. The poor guy didn’t survive the extra long wash cycle. When I dug it out I had to show the kids. We counted the legs, looked at the hard shell, turned him over to see his belly. Kaelyn was the only one (including me) with guts enough to touch it. Tough little girl. She amazes me all the time.
And then there are some smaller creatures, like the itty bitty ants. I am constantly trying to prevent an infiltration. Paul brushed his teeth a couple days ago and didn’t run much water in the sink after he spit. A couple hours later I went into the bathroom and there was a distinct trail of ants from the window, down the tile, and across the sink. There were hundreds of them having a party in the bowl. I could tell exactly where the excess toothpaste and saliva ended up. One day, after an afternoon treat of popcorn, the kids found a stampede of ants from a patio door to a morsel of popcorn that had escaped the kid’s mouths. Hmmmm…keeping the floor really clean with 3 little kids is going to be challenge. I think I understand why no one has carpet.
Our first night here, we were awakened by the sound of something, make that at least 2 somethings, running around on the roof above our heads. The roof is metal so it was quite noisy. Next night…same thing. Interesting. Like having another kid. Or two. A couple nights later we heard something crash – like something fell off the roof, tumbled down metal and thumped on the ground. We knew it couldn’t have been the kids, but our sleepy minds were initially quite alarmed anyway. Paul looked outside and saw something as big as a cat running across the top of the fence. It was too dark to see details.
Every night we are visited by these nocturnal animals. It doesn’t awake me in a panic anymore. I just roll over and hope they don’t play too much up there. We have been trying to get a good look at them, though, and last night they graced us with their presence before we went to sleep.
The kids saw it first. On top of the fence outside. We were trying hard to get a good look (from INSIDE the house) without scaring it away. We all ended up on the deck upstairs, just outside the door, looking down on the little guy on the fence. Then Paul heard the sound of something moving on metal close to our heads. There was another one very close, watching us from the metal awning above the window next to us. We quickly got the kids inside, not knowing how friendly these creatures are. We tried to get some footage but it was difficult in the dark and without my digital SLR (still going through quarantine). The little guy wasn’t easily scared and tried his best to pose while we struggled with a video camera and a point-and-shoot. We got a good look at him and Ryland ran to get his largest Australian animal book. “I know what he is, Mom!” He quickly found the animal…Brushtail possum. Our nighttime visitors have been identified.
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