All creatures great and small

This post has been a long time coming and there is lots to tell and lots of photos so that should keep you all very happy. The list of creatures I’ve seen and which I am now getting used to is a pretty long list!

1. Cockroaches – it goes without saying! The first time I tried to spray one with good, old faithful Doom, in my panic I held the can the wrong way round and managed to spray myself on the face. Boy, was I glad I wear glasses. The cheekiest roach was hiding in the bathroom sink overflow hole (sorry there must be a technical term but I don’t know it). I was busy cleaning my teeth and thinking of nothing special when I spotted the antennae peeping out!   On that occasion the roach lived to tell the tale.
2. Spiders – (Laura – look away now!) not many to report but I did jump back in shock when I spotted this fella first thing one morning next to the washing up. Luckily, it was a day when Felix was around so he sorted out him out.
   
   
   
3. Ghekos – these little creatures are good news as apparently they eat mosquitoes. There is often one little chap on the walls at home. The very tiny ones are almost seethrough. When I went up to Salima recently  there were lots of blue tailed ones. They rush around so are not easy to photograph. (Bonnie – I’m sure you’ll love this photo)
   
   
   
4. Frogs – the funniest one was hiding under the washing machine which was in the patio at Joseph’s house. I’m not sure who was more shocked when he croacked and hopped out – me or him! Yes – you did read correctly, the washing machine was on the patio! (Ok - I admit the frog isn't in this picture but at least you can see the patio)
   
   
   
5. Monkeys – I had a wonderful weekend up in Salima Bay and couldn’t believe how many monkeys were living in the trees right next to the beach. (The joy of zooming in. I wasn't quite as face to face as this picture suggests)
   
   
6. Dogs – lots and they wander around the road at night which I’m not too keen on. Thank goodness I’m the car.
7. Chickens – one of the neighbours keeps chickens and they are often walking in the road as I’m driving to work
8. Hedgehogs – just like at home they are slow creatures who don’t seem to notice or hurry away from cars at night. One had a very lucky escape a couple of weeks ago.
9. Grasshoppers – big green grass hoppers! Somehow they have been finding their way into the kitchen in the last week or so but can’t find their way back out so I come home to find them on the kitchen floor exhausted from los of flapping. Poor things.

I’ll keep my eyes peeled and let you know what else I spot

PS - how funny! As if to say "what about me?" an enormous ant ran across the kitchen floor as I press the "publish" button! Then two minutes later a very long millipede slithered across the floor

PPS - I can believe  forgot these creatures when I wrote this yesterday - maggots! That has to be my worst experience to date. As I cut open a butternut squash I thought the seeds looked a bit strange and before I had time to work out why, they started jumping out of the squash. The inside was full of maggots which started hopping skipping and jumping at great height and great speed out of the squash. I suppose they were glad to see daylight. Thankfully my emergency brain kicked in, I threw the squash into the kitchen bin, put the bin outside, sprayed it with Doom, then sprayed the floor and the worktop to zap the escapees. Then out came the bleach and any other cleaning chemicals I had to wash down the whole worktop. Thankfully there was no uncovered food on the top at the time. To say I felt sick is an understatement and dinner was just a good strong cup of tea for me that night. This is a Malawian experience I do not want to repeat.