At the local library we picked up a book of nursery rhymes inspired by life in Singapore. We've all memorized this one:

"Hickory Dickory Dock.

Geckos live on my Block.

They make Ma shout,

And Sis cry out.

Hickory Dickory Dock."

When I got up to make a phone call at midnight to Canada (9 am PST), I found a wee visitor in my kitchen. It didn’t make me scream, but it took me a few minutes to figure out how to trap it, and then what to do with it. I took it down the Lift and let it go in the gardens. Google tells me it was a Common House Gecko, aka a Moon Lizard. I closed up the kitchen door and window at 8 pm so that Gecko had been running around my kitchen for at least 4 hours.

The gecko hiding on my kitchen counter.

Guess all my childhood lizard hunting has some good uses. In this case I used a clear plastic take away box and a piece of paper. I was afraid to touch it with my hands before I had a chance to make sure it wasn’t poisonous or venomous or something; it’s not.

I’m really good at catching snakes too, but I really hope I don’t have to try that one here.