Summer is really swinging along here in Southern California. It doesn’t get really hot until mid-August and then it stays that way until about Thanksgiving. Well. It’s mid-August! And the heat is here!
And you know what else is here?
The cutest, sweetest little lizards you can imagine!
They skitter and climb, they dance and soak in the heat from the sun. We love them.
You know how this works, but as always, a gentle reminder:
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I came home early from work, my stomach a bit upset (nothing serious — I’m fine now). I did what I always do when I’m feeling under the weather; I found a horror movie on the Netflix and settled in on the couch to zone out and forget my troubles. On the television, the main character had had his first run in with the gang of ghost children who were terrorizing his family, when I noticed Freddie stalking something through the window. “What is it?” I asked, sitting up.
Freddie ignored me, his face pressed against the window as he stared at something on the ground just in front of the window.
I hauled myself up and walked over to him, then dropped myself onto the floor next to him.
“Watch it!” Freddie warned, not looking away from his prey.
I leaned over so I could look over his head. “Oooooh!” I said. “What a cute little lizard!”
He shot me a glare. “Cute?!” he demanded.
“Look how small it is!” I crooned.
He looked at it again, then back at me. “It would make a worthy meal,” he said.
I snorted. “It’s a baby,” I pointed out. “It would fit on my pointer finger!”
“It would be a fierce battle,” he insisted.
“Sure,” I said, laughing a little.
We watched as the small creature ran up the screen door in front of us. “Ahhhh!” I said. “It’s so sweet!”
“It’s playing with us,” he growled, darting in front of me and batting at the glass of the door.
“Its a baby,” I repeated. “It’s just exploring.”
He smacked the glass again.
“Don’t scare it off!” I said.
“I want it,” he demanded.
He was dancing in his excitement while the tiny lizard stayed frozen on the other side of the glass. “Listen,” I said, petting his fur in a futile attempt to calm him down. “Even if you were to catch that precious little baby, you would have no idea what to do with it. You aren’t exactly an experienced hunter.”
“Not an experienced hunter?” he shrieked. “Do you know how many crickets I’ve eaten?!”
“Eww,” I said. “I don't want to hear about you eating bugs!”
"Not an experienced hunter,” he muttered, shaking his head and his tail.
“My apologies,” I laughed. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize what a master hunter you are. But you still aren’t going to get that tiny baby. You know why?”
“No,” he said, hitting the glass again.
“Because it’s outside and you are inside.”
He froze, then turned to glare at me.
"I’ll get it,” he said again.
“Okay,” I said, realizing the futility of trying to make him see reality.
“This glass can’t stop me,” he said.
“Sure,” I agreed.
He pounced forward and smacked into the glass door. It rattled.
“Hey!” I said, grabbing him and pulling him into my lap. I rubbed his head where he had smacked it. “Be careful,” I told him. “You’ll crack your skull before you crack that glass.”
He struggled to get out of my lap. “It’s going to get away!”
I sighed and released him. We both looked up to see that while we were preoccupied, our lizard friend had scaled even higher up the screen door. “It’s getting away!” he announced, and lifted up onto his hind legs to get closer to it. He tapped the glass as high as his paws could stretch.
My head was starting to ache. I closed my eyes and rubbed it, still hearing him as he beat against the glass. The lizard was either oblivious to this drama, or just had a better understanding of the inside/outside difference than my silly cat. Probably the former, I thought, since it was just a baby.
I stood, and went back to the couch, flopping down on it. My stomach was starting to hurt a little, and I wanted to rest. I watched as the lizard turned the other way and ran back down the screen door and onto the ground. Within a few seconds, it was gone. “Fast little thing,” I observed.
“I could have gotten it,” he said.
I threw my arm over my eyes. “Sure you could have,” I said. “You are very smart and very brave.”
I felt him jump up onto the couch next to me. “That’s true,” he agreed. I dropped my arm and looked at him, standing at his full height so he could look down at my face.
“I’m going to take a nap,” I told him.
“Ooooh, I like naps,” he said.
I closed my eyes again and snuggled down into the couch. I felt him curl up next to me. “You’ll get it next time,” I assured him.
“Next time,” he said, yawning.
Happy Caturday, Peeps! I hope you are all staying cool as best you can. This summer is looking to be a scorcher! It’s going to be in the hight 90s to low 100s here for at least the next week. Stay safe, everyone!
