For the longest time Ernie the Iguana lived in the garden and I even made him a bedroom cum sun-lounger on the old post. I planted sumptuous things for him to be protected by. Ixora – lovely big red flowers for the view, cactus for protection and some mother in laws tongue – not sure why – but somehow assumed all that greenery would be welcome. I even threw in an old broken terra cotta pot for him to call home. I introduced him to all the guests and gave them feeding station instructions so he wouldn’t get too fat or eat the wrong things. It took me a few years for the following things to dawn on me.
Ernie was a girl. No problem – now rechristened Ernestina. She kept growing and growing, the boys used to pop over the fence from the empty sandy lot across the road and hope for a quickie, but would most often be seen clinging to palm trees, halfway to the heavens, getting screeched at from her sun-lounger.
At about the same time as I made Ernie welcome, I had planted some new things in the garden – this part of the garden had previously been the burn pile for the rubbish for the previous owner so I wasn’t holding out much hope that things would pop up immediately and I was pretty patient when everyone started to sprout up except my trio of hibiscus – a double red, a very ‘hardy’ peach and a pinky one. That was 2003 or thereabouts. I think Ernie showed up around the same time.
The hibiscus didn’t die, but they didn’t grow up either. The pinky one has had ONE flower that I have seen in almost 18 years. The Ixora never flowered at all, to the extent that I had forgotten it as there and the double red? Well, I had often seen buds there with its tiny leaves and just thought I must have blinked it and missed the actual flowers. I would see them on the ground every now and then and think – Damn – missed it again. I don’t think of myself as being particularly stupid but…. maybe if I had sat down and had a little think for a minute…..
So the years go past – I sort of work around the stunted plants and nobody but me really notices. Not much changed except we (and the dog was key here) move across the street leaving that yard unprotected from feral cats and their scary mates and then one day I realize that I have not seen Ernestina for a bit. I have a bit of a proper look and think – ah well, she had a good innings, 18 years or so. Not bad for a lizard I think – although google tells me terrifying things about them living for much much longer. The sun-lounger remained empty, I had a tear in my eye and the boys give up coming over.
Its quiet. Then Covid. It’s really quiet. But, the Ixora and the Hibiscus are flowering like nutters! The Ixora is suddenly as tall as me and the little red Hibiscus has ‘normal’ size leaves – it was never actually a stunted dwarf version as I thought – it was just chewed to within an inch of its life for years and years. Well, blow me down with a feather – that pesky lizard has a lot to answer for. I had sacrificed the Hibiscus for the Iguana.
Today I saw a ‘mini’ Ernestina soaking up the afternoon sun on the sun-lounger. Much much smaller, but I fear my brave plants have another fight on their hands.
Corner Casa - Caye Caulker 