2015 May 20: Poser

I love geckos. We usually have a few around the house. Nothing like our friend Tekla's house, though, where she has counted 22 geckos in one small room! But, we have them nonetheless.

A couple of nights ago I was washing my feet before bedtime, when a newly hatched gecko made its way up the shower wall beside me. They are only about an inch or inch and a half long at this point. It was so newly hatched that it still had not gotten the hang of climbing, and I watched it for a few moments as it worked out the intricacies of coordinating its leg movements while climbing a slippery tile.

Last night I was on my way to bed when I saw the little gecko outside my changing room door. Of course, I grabbed my camera, hoping to get a photo of this little creature, as I had already gotten a great shot of a full-grown gecko when we returned from dining out.

Nope, this photo is not upside down. Geckos can use their claws and the sticky pads on their feet to seemingly defy gravity!

My little gecko was very cooperative. As soon as I snapped one photo, it would move to a new position until I snapped another. I almost felt like I was at a professional photo shoot! Not to mention that I am in love with the macro feature on my camera. Check out my little poser!

2015 May 14: You Never Know What You'll Find in the Toilet

On May 14 we visited with our friends Krishan and Tekla for supper. They live in a nice house in...well...some small village that takes a while to get to, especially when it is dark and you don't know where you are going! Not that we mind - we, or I, at least, enjoy seeing every little community and going for rides.

We had a lively time visiting with them, their toddler and Tekla's mother. Tekla is a wonderful cook, and she made an outstanding meal. She once again made the deep-fried eggplant that I love, and we all thought that the curried pumpkin was fantastic.

As we were getting ready to leave, Elanor decided to use the restroom. She came running out and said, "Mom! Bring your camera! There's something in the bathroom you probably should see!"

I cannot tell you how much trepidation I felt at these words - you would not believe the number of times I hear myself saying, "Can we please stop talking about bodily functions?!?!" So, being told there is something in the bathroom I need to see was something I reluctantly agreed to.

Turns out this little guy was hiding under the toilet tank.

Tekla then told us that there are actually two of these little frogs that live in her bathroom - one under each side of the toilet tank. One day she decided she was going to get rid of them, so she caught them and took them far out into the garden and let them go. But, in some bizarre rendition of the Cat Came Back, the frogs came back...if not the very next day, then within a few days. And again took up residence under the toilet tank!

Krishan has also been learning to use the macro feature on his camera, a professional quality one with more bells and whistles than you can dream of. A few nights before we visited, he couldn't sleep, so he scrounged around their house until he found a box, a broomstick handle, some tape, some tin foil, a light bulb, some wires and a few other odds and ends...and made himself a flash! He used his new flash to take this picture of our little bathroom buddy. 

Photo by Krishan Alexsander