A multitasking ninja living in paradise

I'm a multitasking ninja, park ranger, and zookeeper all rolled into one. There are dozens of free-roaming, but demanding critters that inhabit my small bit of Isla Mujeres. They have come to expect food, water, and a secure place to live. I am their humble servant.

Geek the Kitchen Gecko

Geek the Kitchen Gecko, who lives behind the fridge, gives me a loud chuk, chuk, chuk greeting every morning when I turn on the coffee maker. Geek doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, except he likes a shallow dish of clean water.

A few times when he has tried to catch a drip from the kitchen tap it has resulted in a traumatic drop into a slippery sided enclosure with no traction for his Velcro-like feet. Rather than chase a panicky lizard around the sink, or fish him out of Sparky's water bowl I have settled on leaving a saucer of water on the kitchen counter - just for him. 

King of the Beach - Thomas the Cat 

Occasionally I pull the fridge away from the wall and vacuum his house, taking care not to suction him up with the poop. In return for our acceptance of his requirements Geek the Gecko does his best to eliminate mosquitoes and ants. 

Before our famous seventeen-year-old Thomas the Cat passed away in April of 2016 there were a succession of kitchen geckos who had a brief and tension-filled existence. Lawrie and I intensely missed our Tommy, but the surviving household geckos had a disco party in celebration of his passing.

Boo - black with dark orange undertones

Boo, the mini-black-jaguar who started dropping in last fall for food and pats hasn't shown an interest in eating Geek, yet. 

Maybe she knows that Geek has been mentioned in three of my mystery novels. Perhaps she is hoping that if she is kind to him, I will include her in a novel.

Stumpy the Iguana is about 15 years old 

While Geek patrols the interior of the house, the larger lizards inhabit rocky burrows outside. There is a herd of about twenty five iguanas that mooch bits of fruit, veggies, and left-over pet food. 

They are similar to beach dogs, keeping a watchful eye on movements at Casa Rosa, Casa Feliz, our house Casa K’aay Há, Casa Maravilla Caribe, and Punta Piedra. Any indication that someone might be willing to feed them, and the whole group will converge in a scurrying mass hoping to be the lucky one who gets the piece of mango, or papaya. They like to leave the boring broccoli or celery bits for the night-time beach-cleaning crew, the hermit crabs.

Hernando - I think ...

The free-roaming hermit crabs number in the hundreds. They are probably the most labour intensive of our outdoor zoo critters. They require a daily supply of fresh clean water in dishes shallow enough to be accessible to small creatures, an assortment of scraps to dine on, and a steady supply of new shells to move into as they outgrow their current domicile. Hermit crabs don’t create their own shells and must find larger homes on average every six months. Only certain shapes meet their requirements for comfort and accessibility. 

Hermit crab using a Pond's Cold Cream jar

The black and white turbo snail shells are their favourites, but the hermit crabs are in direct competition with tourists who also collect the beautiful and increasingly rare shells. Over the years I have purchased hundreds of substitute shells for the hermit crab shell exchange program at our crab-i-tat. The crabs take one – leave one.  I usually mark the purchased shells with red, orange or bright pink nail polish so that I can identify our frequent visitors.  And of course, since they are regularly swapping shells it is virtually impossible to recognize a particular hermit crab. You can never be certain of who you are chatting with!

Regular visitors 

Then there are the birds that visit every afternoon for a drink of clean water and a feather-cleaning bath. Soon after we moved here in 2008 we swept out the natural indents in the coral rocks just in front of our house. The birds quickly learned to rely on us for fresh water, happily congregating for a few minutes of social time in the late afternoon before heading to their roosting spots for the night. Even the iguanas, crabs, or passing cats and dogs drink from the pools.

Sea turtle nesting attempts - September 2019

And giant sea turtles, did I mention those? Okay, I don't feed them, or provide houses, or even fresh water for the sea turtles, but it is fascinating when the nesting mamas come into the yard and make a heck of a mess. Even Lawrie, who loved a nice smooth beach, wouldn't grumble as he raked over their excavations.

As for my almost famous divo Sparky, he is a pampered, but lovable, brat. His idea of a perfect day starts with a sunrise golf-cart ride and a swim in the ocean. When we return home he likes to be served a small breakfast and then he snoozes under my desk while I work on another novel. 

At lunchtime Sparky enjoys a light snack followed by a mid-day walk on the beach. Late in the afternoon he will start bumping me with his nose to remind me that he would like another cart ride before cocktail time. 

When we return home we move to the upper ocean-side deck to enjoy our evening treats; wine for me, and a small snack for him. 

By seven in the evening he's sound asleep. In the morning he'll wake me up at o'dark-hundred to begin his day all over again. 

Being a ninja zookeeper at this house is tough gig.

~

Murder and mayhem. Revenge and romance!

 5.0 out of 5 stars

5.0 out of 5 stars

You won't be disappointed! #5 is a success in the continuation of the Isla Mujeres Island series.

September 3, 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

Lynda has once again written a great story of fiction that engages your reading experience with your mind too become real as life. For those of us who love Isla Mujeres and our favourite places on the island reading this series is like being transported to Isla and becoming friends with the characters and being involved in the story. Congratulations to Lynda, my favorite island writer.