Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Remember Murray?

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Remember Murray...





Remember Murray?
No, I haven't seen him again

But today my daughter,
the one in the throes of first love,
opened up the newspaper
and let out a shriek





because there inside the paper
was a distant cousin of Murray...


a very tiny relative
only one inch long,
a common house gecko
Hemdidactylus frenatus,
who now lives throughout Australia
having immigrated from Asia
over the past twenty years
as hard little dessication resistant eggs
travelling amongst imported cargo.







Baby gecko
will turn a pale creamy colour with age
and scamper up the walls
and across the ceiling
of our home
calling: thuck thuck thuck


He scampers on his webbed like feet
with specialized toes covered in millions
of microscopic hairs ending in spatulae
that stick him the wall
allowing him to travel vertically up
and down without falling




Photo by Robert Hull



his very clever tail also helps him
with his climbing
and acts as a fifth limb.
If he should fall
the tail manoeuvres his body
and orients him
so that he always lands on his feet



We love our little house geckos
for their cute appearance
and engaging chatter,
and also because
they love mosquitoes...



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28 comments:

  1. Truly, gecko with cute appearance and characters, win your heart for this article!

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  2. hello Delwyn!!..we have a few very fat healthy gecko's living at our place,having Dingo liking them so much I on a rescue mission whenever I see him moving towards this one particular spot...the little noise they make always make me stop and look out for them !
    xxx Mona

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  3. Hello yoon see my little friend...

    do you have them?

    Happy Days

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  4. Hi Mona

    my long lost friend!!!!

    At least Dingo can't climb up walls...or can he????


    Happy Days

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  5. Thank you for your visit and for following Delwyn...I find your blog very peaceful...full of rich colors and beautiful artwork. I enjoyed seeing the exoctic plants of your area...and am looking forward to viewing past and future posts.

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  6. Geckos are kinda cute, I think (Murray, not so much). Love that shot of the flying gecko.

    There is a series of commercials in the States for Geico that features a gecko as a spokes person. I love those ads, which are quite funny, though I understand many hate them. I actually try to watch American channels if I can, just to catch sight of those ads.

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  7. very very cute. do you let them stay in your home then? or is the stay conditional on a good job eating mosquitoes? my kids would love those little guys!
    steven

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  8. Welcome Wanda,
    I am glad that you have found your way over here...

    I thought you might like to see the flora of the sub tropics...we can learn from and enjoy each other's posts...

    Happy Days

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  9. Violet

    I understand you reservations about Murray and I'm not inviting him in but the geckos are here to stay...

    Happy Days

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  10. Hello Steven,

    once they come in they are here to stay...we have many permanent residents...they like to scamper over the exposed beams in the ceiling...

    In Hawaii there is a beautiful apple green gecko that id stunning...

    Happy Days

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  11. Yes, it's the surprise (of finding them where you don't expect them, in this case) that gets you every time. I must admit, I'd screech too -- especially if it were in my house since they're not adapted to this climate.

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  12. I love geckos! They are the symbol of friendship. And they rid us of nasty mosquitoes. I "raised" 2 in my South African lodge cabin, and they grew to an astounding 8 inches!! Fat and wobbly, they could still scale the vertical wall of my room and wait beside the netting over my bed for... midnight snack.

    Thuck thuck thuck!

    Ciao Mona, it's good to be back here.
    Lola xx

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  13. I just called you Mona! I meant Delwyn of course. I'm confusing my Aussie friends... Sorry - true sign of my tired condition.

    Good night...


    Zzz

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  14. Hi Lola

    It is nice to hear your cheerful voice again...
    Have you had a very busy time?

    What were you doing in Sth Africa?

    Happy sleeping

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  15. Hello Rosaria,

    Double charm - look cute and serve a good purpose...

    Happy Days

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  16. Hi Meri

    Usually they keep to the ceiling but little ones are apt to be found at lower levels

    Happy Days

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  17. They are wonderful! Really cool pics. When we visited Barbados one came back in our luggage. We had him for two years.

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  18. I wouldn't like finding that in my paper but he is cute.

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  19. I've seen the geckos at my children's Florida homes and have been amazed at how fast they are. Here, our mosquito killers are bats.

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  20. Hi Lorac,
    we didn't have them here for the first 10 15 years of living in Noosa, and we thought that when they did arrive they had come via our luggage from Hawaii but it seems they came in from Asia via cargo.

    Happy Days

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  21. Welcome Yolanda
    Its nice to have you visit my corner of the world.

    Baby gecko is tiny and he really is very cute...

    I will come and visit you later today...I see some books I have read...

    Happy Days

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  22. Hi Jennifer, we have big bats but I don't know if they eat mozzies, I think ours love fruit.

    Do the little ones come indoors?

    Happy Days

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  23. Oh, yes, I do remember Murray and his cousin is very cute, mainly because he is still so small. Many thanks.

    Greetings from London.

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  24. Hi Mr C

    yes baby gecko could fit into a matchbox easily...which reminds me of 'Alexander Beetle' by AA Milne...

    Happy Days

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  25. oh I love geckos, when I lived in Malawi we had them in our house and yes they got rid of the mosquitoes very well...

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  26. Hi Juliet

    yes they are not only cute - but useful...
    Happy Days

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  27. Yeah, I have them in my batik print, sometimes they creep secretly into my home!
    Ha..Ha..

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