I think sometimes that our kids are budding biologists. They love to explore our property in search of plants and animals. Their current unit study for school is on plants. We even brought back some Chaya from the central Plateau to plant in our yard. Chaya is a fast growing plant that is edible and contains a lot of protein. Cooked it tastes something like spinach.
Our aquarium continues to be of interest. The next step will be catching some small fish. We might even see if we can get some coral to grow in it. The creature below is some kind of sponge that came with the rock we collected from the ocean. It is growing like a weed and is currently about 5-6 mm long.
We don't see snakes much but our gardyen Wilson caught this one the other day. It was a baby garter snake, only about 10-12 inches long. We let him go because we like snakes - they eat mice and rates of which we have plenty. Our rat poison regimen seems to be working and we collect on average about 4-5 bodies per month.
Lizards are another favorite catch. Using a small net Ethan has become something of an expert at trapping lizards. Animals caught in the yard are under the 24-hour rule. Keep them for a day, observe, photograph and then they have to be let go. Lizards here come in all shapes and sizes - brown, green, big, small. The geckos are my favorite. Often when I go into shower I see a baby gecko hanging out on the wall. They are about 1-2 cm long. But again we like them because they grow up to eat insects like mosquitos.
This article is for you, Dr. Jim!
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