JUMPIN' LIZARDS!

I guess I have been in Jamaica long enough. I don't jump as high as I used to when I see a lizard!

I was teaching a fourth grade class the other day in the library at Renee's school. All of a sudden, crash, bang, boom. The metal chairs all got pushed, arms went flying, the girls started squealing and the boys yelled. I thought for sure the culprit had to have been at least a foot long to merit that kind of response. Trying to calm everyone, trying to be cool and in control as the teacher should, I said, "where is it!!" I wanted to be sure that I was prepared and far enough away from what had to be a lizard. I have seen even grown men be as frightened of a lizard as we are of rattlesnakes!

After a few moments of sheer pandemonium, getting the class back in control, I said where is it? The children screamed Nathan has it. Give it up Nathan, stop scaring the class. Give it up Nathan, let me see! Lo and behold that little lizard was only two inches long including the tail! I began to tell them that they were really scaredy cats!! and then began a monologue on how many BIG ones have been in my house! Of course they have been in their houses too!! Nathan still had the little thing captured and so I had to tell him to let him go! Please don't kill him, he is going to help us in the long run by eating the mosquitoes! Needless to say, that class was shot, the clock kept ticking, they barely had time to recoup their fear and get a book checked out!

Twenty-two different lizard species live in Jamaica. Some countries fear insects, some fear snakes, Jamaicans fear lizards. There is the green lizard (can get quite large), the Jamaican Brown Anole, the Croaking lizard, the Graham's Anole, and many more. The Croaking lizard is a gecko. They are active at night and make croaking calls to attract mates. They make a very annoying, distinguishable sound, sounds like AAAAK, AAAAK. It is really bothersome because you know who is making the sound and wonder how close they are to the bedroom window that is open!

The Croaking lizard is the one that visits my dining room at night. One night when Ryan was here we went downstairs for a midnight snack and caught him on the wall. He is huge. Just plain huge and scary! This particular kind of lizard climbs walls and clings to the ceiling. You wonder how they can stay like that! It is actually because of the millions of tiny hairs that help them to cling.

Okay a Biology lesson....The tip of each tiny hair has hundreds of little pads called spatulae. Biologists have assumed that lizards produced a glue type reaction to cling but not so. As a matter of fact, an interesting note, one setae (tiny hair) can lift the weight of an ant. A million setae, which fit in the size of a dime, could lift a 45 pound child. What this means is you can't pull a gecko off the wall even if you dared to get that close!

Here is a blurry picture of the one in my house. I was so scared that my hands were shaking to take the picture!



The green lizards are a magnificent sight. There is one that clings to my clothesline pole. I was clipping the clothes on the line, startled him and he moved to the tree. He is probably a juvenile because they get much bigger than this one that I call "Limey"!



The Jamaican Brown Anole is the most common one that I see. They are everywhere. This is the kind that landed in my closet and I wouldn't go in for about 3 weeks, he was huge. One day I was cleaning and he was just staring right at me. He was as if waiting for me to spot him. He was right in the middle of the floor and then scampered when I screamed. Den tried to get him out of the closet, but he grabbed where his tail was attached behind his back legs and his tail ripped off so then I had a tail-less lizard, an obnoxious one at that, living in my closet! He finally left when he got hungry I guess and found his way out. Would I love to have seen how he left, hopefully with his tail between ...no he couldn't leave humbly, his tail was ripped off! Just recently I saw him outside the bathroom window, I knew it was him, he was the same size and tail-less!

Terry Ord, a post doctoral researcher in Zoology, explained that birds, frogs, geckos, and primates sound off at dusk and dawn but the Jamaican Anole ends and starts each day with push-ups, head bobs, and neck flaps. He set up a camcorder in their territory to make observations. They are quite the showman I would say! One thing for sure they are not shy. I have a new friend outside the bathroom window who each night it would appear he is looking for us. When I go upstairs to get ready for bed he is actually looking in the window and just sits and watches as you brush your teeth. He is really something.

Here is a brown looking in on me at my desk!



Our first Christmas in Jamaica, I had an outside door decoration holding fake poinsettias, when the season was over I took the flowers out and lo and behold a gecko was in there nesting. I wonder how long he had been in there for he was completely white, just like the container. Talk about startling!!

One of my favorite photos I took is this one. Two little friends sunbathing together!



These little browns are everywhere, inside and out. In every spot that has an opening, they will find themselves making their own welcome!

When I put the books away at Renee's school, I disturb their resting places. There they love to rest on the top of the pages of the books. I startle them, they move and I keep going!







I doubt that I will ever cease jumping when they surprise me or yelling D.E.N. when I find them in strange places, but I think I am getting used to where they hang out and when I jump, they run....or should I say slither...........eeww!

2010 Summer is Over and it's not coming back!

This is actually part 7 to my summer series! Lots of photos and so many more that I haven't posted. I really need to get to scrapbooking now!

We power packed Ryan's last weekend and enjoyed every minute of it, except of course our goodbye. On Saturday we celebrated daddy's 55th birthday and did our Christmas card photo shoot. On Sunday we started early for our trip to Kingston and ate a delightful lunch at TGIF. It has become a tradition to eat at the TGIF in Kingston whenever Ryan is here. We are quickly associating that resturaunt with departures though and that is not so fun.









We are in the rainy season of Jamaica's weather pattern. From April to November, rain comes nearly everyday. Sometimes hard, sometimes pleasant. Hard to get the laundry done though. I have to put everything out on the line and when it rains it is really hard to get everything dry in the humid house. But so be it. I had prayed for a couple months before Ryan came that God would give us sunny days for our many excursions. He did it! When we had the hard rains we were here at the house in between trips! We lost electricity while Ry was here, which isn't unusual. Sometimes there are island wide shutoffs, other times just the city will shut down electricity and, of course, other times lightning strikes. Our tv has been hit 3 times. Our modem was hit last week and we were out of phone and iternet for 3 days. On one of our trips we went through flooding and that was quite exciting for someone who doesn't live here!
















We had lots of fun at TGIF and then on to the airport for saying good-bye.








It is so bitterweet to say good-bye to Ryan. We are thrilled for the opportunity he has had to go to college and all the experiences that have grown him into a wonderful man, however, we miss him so much that when we have him, we don't want to let him go.









We let you go but we can't wait till December till you, my sweetheart, come back to JAMROCK!

Summer Come Back! part 6

After the service on Sunday we planned to get our "jerk" fix! Actually it is where jerk was started called Boston Bay. Our dinner was wonderful as always, the day was so lovely we decided to take a drive and see where we landed.

Unplanned excursions are fun and this turned out to be my favorite for the entire 2 weeks Ryan was here. My roots go back to boats! I spent much of my childhood on a lake in upstate New York. My grandpa, uncles, brother had boats and it is just a favorite of mine to pass the time on a boat. It was my mental therapy for a Sunday afternoon! We ended up at the Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio.

The Blue Lagoon is fed by underground fresh water springs and connected to the Caribbean Sea. The Lagoon is 200 feet deep and changes color depending on the time of day. When the sun hits it, it can look azure blue to emerald green. Absolutely breathtaking. It used be called the Blue Hole, however when Brooke Shields did a movie called The Blue Lagoon, it was officially changed to that name.

When we first started out on the boat we passed Monkey Island. There are no monkeys here but a person had a pet monkey and the story goes that this person would take their pet monkey to the island and let him play all day and then go pick him up to go home! I guess it was doggie daycare without any doggies!

Then we passed some exquisite villas where politicians and businessmen spend their money. The white villa in the pictures is where Tom Cruise stayed while filming movies. I shot a picture of the green house in case I ever get rich. It costs $1000 a night, it comes with security, maid service and a private chef! Oh what a vacation that would be!

Two movies that have made The Blue Lagoon famous since the movie entitled Blue Lagoon are Cocktail and Anaconda 2.

There is an area also where you can swim to get younger! Legends tell us that if you swim in the mineral springs you will feel 20 years younger, I wonder if you will look 20 years younger! Unfortunately we didn't travel with our suits so we couldn't take advantage of this great offer that day!

One of the pictures will show the caves. Also one of the rock formations appears to look like an alligator! See if you can spot it!

Summer Come Back! part 5

While we were on the eastern part of the island, another new adventure we took was Reach Falls in Port Antonio. Most everyone visits Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios when they come to Jamaica, but we have a new favorite now! It is a little less chaotic and could I say less "touristy" although it was very busy on the Saturday we were there.

Reach Falls is located in the middle of a jungle. Not a jungle like some countries! Jamaica doesn't have monkeys or snakes but a jungle nevertheless. The drive up to the area was absolutely beautiful, lush green and vibrant. The banana path we walked to get nearer was equally as beautiful! Reach Falls is full of caves and the kids went searching. The falls are recognised as one of the most beautiful in Jamaica. As a matter of fact some not so commendable magazines have done photo shoots there.

It is a series of cascades that tumble down limestone tiers. The Drivers River actually feeds it and it comes out of the Blue Mountains. You may have heard of Blue Mountain Coffee, a very expensive coffee from the Jamaica Blue Mountains. The Drivers River plunges 30 feet into a wide pool. Doesn't that sound exciting? Well, believe me, it was and I would love to be there today. It takes some time to get into the water as it is ice cold and a little shocking at first!