Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? #1
A year and some months ago, Jason's mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew vacationed in St. Pete, Florida. I was teaching, so I couldn't go, but Jason took off midweek and went to spend a few days with them on the sofabed in their resort room. While he was there, he and his mom went shopping for plants. Jas came back to New Orleans with a one-foot tall hibiscus plant.
When Katrina loomed, we took all the plants inside and assumed we'd be back in time to tend to them. Five weeks later, we returned to find most of the plants alive, but in bad shape. The hibiscus plant had lost all of her leaves. But we put her back outside and now she's a little leggy, but she's at least five feet tall (I know this because her topmost branches are about at the top of my head). More importantly, she has become a habitat, for lack of a better word.
It's only been in the past month or so that we've realized that our hibiscus has been the nightly resting place of a green anole. Of course we have no way of knowing if it is the same anole every night, but I think it's a safe bet. Last weekend we had a yard sale and spent the boring hours watching the anole molt and eat his own shed skin.
What's perhaps most remarkable about this lizard is that he moves to the hibiscus after dark and sleeps and almost cannot be awakened. Tonight we couldn't find him and Jason began picking dead leaves off of the branches of the hibiscus only to discover the anole cleverly camoflaged just under the leaves he removed. He's there right now, and I am tempted to test him by petting him, but I don't want to disturb him.
Like a chameleon, he can change colors-- from green to brown to almost blue. Tail included, he's about 8 inches long. He sleeps upside down and I can't understand why all his blood doesn't rush to his head. Jas and I have talked seriously about leaving the hibiscus behind when we move. If only we knew that the new apartment occupants would understand.
I will miss our green anole. All of them, the many dozens around our apartment. When we were evacuated, we talked about them all the time... what's happened to our lizards? We've not named this one, but pre-K there was a house gecko who spent many evenings in our apartment (so many that Jas once left out a Nyquil cap full of water for him) who we named Larry. We've seen "Larry" since Katrina, but never in the house.
I'll miss all these creatures. It's like the Discovery Channel around here sometimes.
When Katrina loomed, we took all the plants inside and assumed we'd be back in time to tend to them. Five weeks later, we returned to find most of the plants alive, but in bad shape. The hibiscus plant had lost all of her leaves. But we put her back outside and now she's a little leggy, but she's at least five feet tall (I know this because her topmost branches are about at the top of my head). More importantly, she has become a habitat, for lack of a better word.
It's only been in the past month or so that we've realized that our hibiscus has been the nightly resting place of a green anole. Of course we have no way of knowing if it is the same anole every night, but I think it's a safe bet. Last weekend we had a yard sale and spent the boring hours watching the anole molt and eat his own shed skin.
What's perhaps most remarkable about this lizard is that he moves to the hibiscus after dark and sleeps and almost cannot be awakened. Tonight we couldn't find him and Jason began picking dead leaves off of the branches of the hibiscus only to discover the anole cleverly camoflaged just under the leaves he removed. He's there right now, and I am tempted to test him by petting him, but I don't want to disturb him.
Like a chameleon, he can change colors-- from green to brown to almost blue. Tail included, he's about 8 inches long. He sleeps upside down and I can't understand why all his blood doesn't rush to his head. Jas and I have talked seriously about leaving the hibiscus behind when we move. If only we knew that the new apartment occupants would understand.
I will miss our green anole. All of them, the many dozens around our apartment. When we were evacuated, we talked about them all the time... what's happened to our lizards? We've not named this one, but pre-K there was a house gecko who spent many evenings in our apartment (so many that Jas once left out a Nyquil cap full of water for him) who we named Larry. We've seen "Larry" since Katrina, but never in the house.
I'll miss all these creatures. It's like the Discovery Channel around here sometimes.
posted by M at 9:14 PM
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