Close Encounters with Nature on a Porch

Austin has had some spring rains, and with that comes the renewal of life and stuff. I was helping a friend put away some trash on his porch, and we found a chameleon hiding in a crumpled piece of butcher paper. I tried to catch it, but it immediately jumped onto my shirt. Don’t worry, the lizard survived without any problems, he didn’t even lose his tail.

I was impressed with the speed in which he changed from the brown of the butcher paper to the bright green that largely failed to match the color of my shirt. It couldn’t have taken him more than twenty seconds. And when he fell on the ground an took shelter behind a bicycle tire, he returned to a brown colors just as quickly.

Then last night some friends were hanging out on our porch late at night. The evenings are still cool around here. And then we had a visit from a giant moth making a spastic leap at the porch light. It repeatedly fluttered against the backs of necks, or buzzed the tender flesh around ears and throat.

I had to grab it and carry it to someone else’s porchlight. The light on the porch was dim, so the photo doesn’t do the beauty of its feather wings justice. It felt a little like a baby bird in the palm of my hand, soft and furry and maybe just a bit warm.

I found myself stroking its wings and singing the Mothra song.

And yes, I know the Mothra song.