This post is part of Round 5 in the AW Blog Chain. Apparently the chain is the only thing getting me off (on?) my butt to post, so yay for AW!
In the last post of the chain, Razib explains how rain is both a blessing and a curse in Bangladesh. Living here on the edge (OK really in) the desert, it is sometimes hard to imagine a such lush green country where parts remain under water for weeks! Despite the dry weather we all have lawns as if we lived in the Midwest - ridiculous, but not much you can do about it if you are unwilling to fight your neighbors and the local homeowners association.
We can't completely escape the desert though - the local fauna simply finds space to live. In our old place, we had a bit of a black widow spider infestation on our patio. There wasn't much we could do except keep sweeping out the webs, and killing the mamma spiders as we found them.
No big spiders so far at our new digs, but there are some old friends, the fence lizards. They can range from 2 or 3 inch baby-size to 6 inches or so. They race along fences, walls, rocks and any other textured surface. Every so often they pause in a sunny spot and do what looks like push ups. Up and down and up and down, and then they are off again. What is neat about lizards is that they have a protein in their blood that kills the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. A tick that bites a lizard is rendered relatively harmless. Not only are they fun to watch, they promote the public health!
There is one particular lizard that lives in a crack in the wall in our back yard. As I sit at the kitchen table I can see him as he edges out on his daily rounds. It is a bit comforting to know that our houses and lawns and pets haven't driven away all the wildlife.
Next up: Matt at Fireflies in the Cloud
Previous Posts in the Chain
Be sure to follow the rest of the chain on these blogs (I'll update with the permalinks as people post):
In the last post of the chain, Razib explains how rain is both a blessing and a curse in Bangladesh. Living here on the edge (OK really in) the desert, it is sometimes hard to imagine a such lush green country where parts remain under water for weeks! Despite the dry weather we all have lawns as if we lived in the Midwest - ridiculous, but not much you can do about it if you are unwilling to fight your neighbors and the local homeowners association.
We can't completely escape the desert though - the local fauna simply finds space to live. In our old place, we had a bit of a black widow spider infestation on our patio. There wasn't much we could do except keep sweeping out the webs, and killing the mamma spiders as we found them.No big spiders so far at our new digs, but there are some old friends, the fence lizards. They can range from 2 or 3 inch baby-size to 6 inches or so. They race along fences, walls, rocks and any other textured surface. Every so often they pause in a sunny spot and do what looks like push ups. Up and down and up and down, and then they are off again. What is neat about lizards is that they have a protein in their blood that kills the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. A tick that bites a lizard is rendered relatively harmless. Not only are they fun to watch, they promote the public health!
There is one particular lizard that lives in a crack in the wall in our back yard. As I sit at the kitchen table I can see him as he edges out on his daily rounds. It is a bit comforting to know that our houses and lawns and pets haven't driven away all the wildlife.
Next up: Matt at Fireflies in the CloudPrevious Posts in the Chain
Be sure to follow the rest of the chain on these blogs (I'll update with the permalinks as people post):
- Fireflies in the Cloud
- I might lose my mind
- The Secret Government EGGO Project
- Mad Scientist Matt's Lair
- Even in a Little Thing
- Beyond the Great Chimney Production Log
- Kappa no He
- Tiffany's Smorgasbord
- Just a Small Town Girl
- At Home, Writing
- Southern Expressions
- BCom
- earthshoes
- Peregrinas
- Writing From Within
- Sounds of Serenity in Mayhem
Comments
Very interesting post. Thanks.
YOu surely live in a nice place compared to me. HOwever, not having rain is a terrible thing. I really love the first rain that comes in APril every year.
We also have black widow spiders in Georgia, unfortunately.
It's an interesting experience. O_0
As for spiders- not much love.
When I lived in Texas, we had a problem with grass spiders. They would nestle in with our A/C. So when it broke, they would come out to play.
I can't stand spiders of any variety. I don't care if they are harmless or not. I just don't want to be around them.