Day 7 Saturated with Life

Day 7 Saturated with Life

Just like scuba diving when there are fish above, below and beside you, here at Hank and Marie’s I am also surrounded by living organisms. Of course there are plants of every size and description everywhere, and I have mentioned the birds which literally can (and do) fly through the house (and now hummingbirds too, since I filled up the feeders), but this morning there was more. The howler monkeys which have been sounding from the hills every day, passed right over the house this morning on what I understand is their regular route through the trees over to the peninsula. Mom, Dad and two youngsters grazed on flowers in the tree above my bedroom for half an hour and then left via the power lines over the road.

 

Baby howler monkey

Butterflies float around every part of the gardens, beetles and other bugs are thick especially at night and seem especially attracted to my laptop screen where they crawl in great enough numbers that I sometimes have to brush them off so I can continue writing. I am getting used to them colliding with my head during their nighttime zoomings. I pulled my plate out of the microwave this morning along with a surprising condiment: a good sized beetle that somehow survived an early morning nuking and walked away across the counter.

The other night I heard a large plop in the pool and discovered a huge cane toad, probably the one Marie warned me visited the dog’s water bowl for a dip each night had decided to enjoy a larger pool. She leisurely swam over to the steps and hopped out, then made a slow loop around the kitchen. Tonight I heard another plop behind me and assumed she was back but this time it was a giant tree frog taking a lap.

Tree frog after its swim

Amphibians aren't the only things that enjoy the pool: a pair of Great Kiskadees come by every other day or so for a swim. They each dip in four or five times then go to the starfruit tree to preen and dry off.

Kiskadees

And then I go to bed each night with those rubbery geckos skittering on my walls busily stalking and pouncing on their insect dinners. Nikita, dog #1, is under the bed, Itsy (#2) is next to me under the covers and the tabby cat is at my feet. Life surrounds, breathing, eating, calling, now sleeping.