Chasing the Dragon

Well, it wasn't a dragon so much as a lizard, and it wasn't one so much as two, and it wasn't chasing so much as capturing. Two lizards, one large and one small, took up residence in my bathtub while I was away. Living in Florida, I've become quite adept at removing lizards from the main areas of the house. This was different. If I drop one in the living room, it might run behind the piano. If I drop one between my bathroom and the patio door, it might hide in my bed or who knows where. Finally, after pondering the situation for a long time, I captured them in a shoebox, first the big one then the little one. The small one went down the drain for awhile, getting a drink maybe.

When I lived in the mountains of West Virginia, I got used to get all species of creature in my house. When you live in the woods, bugs will come inside. Once a snake came in the front door. (I'm blase about it now, but at the time I was somewhat panicked.) Raccoons never came in, but clawed sometimes at the door to our enclosed porch. Despite their cute appearance, they can be very aggressive and scary. I have encountered them in Florida too, in nature preserves. One time a raccoon blocked my path on a bike trail and hissed at me. I took an alternate route.

Lizards in my tub turned out to be all the excuse I needed not to take a shower today. I've been cleaning and working on my mom's estate all day. Now that the lizards are roaming free in the back yard -- or at least somewhere other than my garden tub -- I think it may be time to get clean. Or maybe I'll get in a bit more yard work first. I might as well get dirtier before I get clean.