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Of The Salamander Kind by Jean Eisenmann | photo courtesy of Jean Eisenmann
L
ast week my husband and I had a taste of Texas. It wasn’t a culinary event, but a face-to- face encounter with a Central Texas Salamander. Not the vivid green gecko with big brown eyes and endearing British accent, but the slimy, flesh-colored creature that looks like a large gummy worm. My new candy-of-choice is Skittles.
One night we fell asleep early and I
Salamanders are nocturnal, so I felt comfortable using my office in the daytime. For a week, when darkness In warm months salamanders are fell I closed off the room and stuffed everywhere, lurking around windows a bath towel under the door to keep it and garage doors, waiting for the from touring the house, using our chance to become home dwellers. bathrooms and raiding the refrigerator. We like to call them geckos because it That became routine, as well as my sounds cute, and again, it relates to the daytime habit of darting my head all insurance spokes-critter. In truth, around the room to ensure I was working the two are very different: Geckos in a salamander-free are lizards and zone. Van was kind Geckos are lizards salamanders are enough to point out that and salamanders amphibians. I had adopted the very are amphibians. That concludes my head-darting mannerism That concludes my lesson for today. of my nemesis! I think Pop quiz next lesson for today. that triggered something issue. One evening Pop quiz next issue. (besides a headache), I walked into my for my repulsion turned home office, turned on the light, and there to compassion for the beast. Sort of. He on the wall, up-close-and-personal, was might even have squatter’s rights by now. a salamander. I judged it to be about 4 ft. Then I named him...wait for it...SAL. Not long, a veritable king of salamanders. But too many creative juices needed to flow Van, my husband, said it was more like 3 for that one. There are subtle ways to inches long and perhaps just on the king’s distinguish males from females, but I’ll let royal court. you look that up yourself.
that he must have used the guest
If you live in Texas, odds are you’ve
been exposed to the same incident.
20 | 35 WEST | AUGUST 2020
neglected to cordon off my office. I awoke at 3 a.m., stumbled to the
kitchen and there was Sal, on a wall
off the kitchen. My first thought was bathroom and raided the refrigerator. My next thought was that he needs to return to the great outdoors!
Van was in REM stage of sleep and
didn’t even move when I nudged him.
You’ve heard of stories where a human
being lifts an automobile off the ground
to save their child’s life? I moved a 170-lb. king mattress off the bed with him in it. If you ever need a bouncer....
Trap in hand (plastic cup), the great white (haired) hunter faced his prey. At least he
managed to put on undershorts first. Van, not Sal. I’ll never forget his big black eyes looking at me as the cup went down. Sal, not Van.
As my hunter gently eased Sal onto the
grass in our front yard, he caught site of our two female neighbors enjoying the show. I’m glad he had the cup.
I recently read that Central Texas
salamanders could be faced with extinction. Take care, Sal.
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