I’ve been surrounded by a wealth of intriguing, beautiful and amusing creatures lately. Both on our Caribbean outing and now back at home, the company I’ve been keeping have been anything but dull. I’ve had to keep my distance, though, almost as if I were some sort of dangerous predator. With the people, since we got home to Texas, I’ve tried to avoid any unnecessary exposure to what turned out to be a reasonable suspicion of coming down with a cold (not as bad as my spouse’s, at least); with the other companions, it’s more a matter of keeping a respectful distance from their wildness.
With the frogs, to be fair, it was unlikely we’d cross paths, since they were hanging out on the periphery of where we were. We heard consistent singing from the local mascot Coquí, the sweet frog species revered in Puerto Rico for its generous insect pest control and other charms, not least of them the evening chorale of the mate-seeking males. Didn’t see any, though, other than that sort of movement that is just past peripheral view. Enjoyed the songs, all the same.
For actual sightings, however, the reptile population has kept us in better company. Best In Show goes to the iguana population of Puerto Rico, for making frequent appearances to show off the varied beauties of the species. Crested or not, dragon-sized or baby-dainty, green or earthily striped, iguanas and other lizards fascinate me and get my vote for lovely monsters whenever I can see them, and the more so when they’re not in some pet store or zoo, just hanging around in their natural haunts. That’s my kind of ‘haunting beauty,’ if you know what I mean.
In that respect, the iguanas got some serious competition as beauty champs in my own personal creature feature when we got home from our trip and had a first-ever visit on our lot—albeit in a risky appearance in the middle of our driveway—of the most charming little turtle, no longer than my outstretched hand. Thankfully, my husband/chauffeur spotted the little guy, avoided driving over him, and went back out on foot to gently relocate the turtle to our back garden, where there are lots of good turtle snacks growing, plenty of taller plants for shelter from sun and predators, and a shortage of adorable turtles that he/she helped alleviate by visiting. That makes me a happy critter.
Art-Colored Glasses 
As always very enjoyable read and fantastic illustrations.:) Happy weekend. x
Thank you, Janet! Hope you’ve begun a glorious weekend yourself, by now!
xoxo
The frog is awesome!! Love the colouring!
So glad you enjoyed him. He aims to please! 😀
Kathryn
I love how you illustrate your thoughts, and am impressed that you are able to use bold and bright colors, even while struggling with feeling a bit under the weather. The two wouldn’t seem to be able to exist in the same space, so good for you for inviting in the lime greens and the bold turquoise and the sunny golden yellows. Whether in celebration or an act of defiance, the bright colors brought a smile to my face, so thank you for sharing your side of the rainbow.
Thank you! As such a color-holic, I can’t resist trying their powers to see if they can’t cure and cheer me of whatever germs and/or clouds ail me in any given moment, so I went ahead and splashed away. 🙂
xo
I LOVE these frogs!! Your illustrations I mean 🙂 They are just wonderful and make me smile. 😀 I can hear frogs at night in the pond outside our bedroom window. They are such comforting creatures.
Aren’t the frogs just the most charming singers?! The ones in PR may have been shy of makin a visual appearance, but they weren’t the least bit reserved about singing their little hearts out for us all evening.
😀
yes yes yes!!! I love them 🙂 *ribbit*
Loved this post, Kathryn, and reptiles have always fascinated me, too. Although I prefer viewing them through glass. 🙂 And your illustrations are wonderful and colorful! Just last night, my hubby was watching a t.v. show about people owning exotic pets. One man owned an iguana, weighing 250 lbs. and treated “Big Boy” like a dog. I couldn’t get into it; “Big Boy” didn’t quite have the cuddle factor of a dog or cat! 🙂 Very interesting, though..Happy Friday and weekend! xo
Yeah, I’m absolutely in agreement: reptiles are beautiful in the abstract, not puppy-snuggly!!! 😀 Hope you had a marvelous weekend and have a superb week ahead. 😀
xo