Gecko Here, Gecko There

One of the neat things about living in Texas are the encounters with lizards. Growing up in the Great White North meant that my only previous encounter with a lizard was a university friend's pet lizard named for Janis Joplin. So far this year I have had at least four encounters, which is surprising considering that I had zero last year. Perhaps they have flourished in 2007 due to all the rain we had in the spring. The first couple of times freaked me out as they were while I was walking and noticed something quickly cross my path. I kept telling Hubby that I'd seen a gecko, you know, like the one in the Geico ad, but he did not believe me until he saw one for himself Sunday afternoon on the drainpipe outside the garage. We were in the car and arriving home from Austin when he shouted to me. I thought he yelled "Deco! It's your Deco" -- I thought he was referring to Art Deco because I love Art Deco. But, it was our friendly neighborhood gecko heading face-first down the drainpipe. This morning I spotted another one on our second-floor balcony by our potted geraniums. The wonderful thing about geckos is that they munch on bugs -- especially cockroaches, and the roaches down here are big enough to eat a small child. I love my gecko.