There are Geckos in my house

but is that a bad thing?

I’m a dork. A dork with issues.

Last November I created a video to introduce Antica Fermata Latomie, our old train stop house in Sicily. I put it on YouTube because I couldn’t figure out how to post it directly to Substack. (maybe the length was too long?)

Much to my amazement, the video racked up a whole bunch of views. Many more than I could ever have imagined. And people commented. So many comments were kind and supportive. And then there were a few that were not.

Hey, I put myself out there. It’s a new digital world and there are bound to be some negative comments. Rationally, I can even feel for the people who take the time to log in and write a sarcastic or rude note instead of simply scrolling by. But, on a non-rational level… I’m human. I react.

It took nine months to compile another video about our Sicily home. Only, it’s not a new video so much as a response to the last one. And this (the need to respond instead of just move on) is where my issues are on full display.

“Critters” is indeed a respectable word referring to mice and geckos. It is, after all, a derivative of the word creatures. A number of folks who left comments thought otherwise.

And then there’s the living with critters. No one took issue with me wanting to remove the mice. But the geckos? That was a hornet’s nest. (metaphorical only; no hornets were harmed)

Many people, even including some pleasant ones, told me that geckos are good to have around. The mean people just told me to live with them or leave. The sting comes not from their tone particularly but more from my own failure to be clear. And from their anonymous assumptions. I am not a wimp, I am not afraid of geckos, and I do not want to kill the geckos. Yes, I am aware of the benefits and poignant symbolism of these little creatures.

The problem is, we had too many.

The need of strangers to defend geckos reminds me of my post, Groundhogs in the Garden. Every animal is worthy of life, until it gets in our way. But what folks are willing to living with —and not— is not universal. Except perhaps for mosquitoes. I even heard a bio-diversity specialist say on NPR a few weeks ago that removing three species of mosquitoes from the 3500 species that exists would be a good thing. The three mosquito species, that is, which bite humans and are responsible for spreading diseases (like malaria, yellow fever, and more). Yes, we can probably all agree on this. But I digress.

In general, which animals make good neighbors is a matter of opinion.

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Back to the geckos. I’m willing to live with them, of course. That is, if the geckos live outside. Maybe one or two inside if they really want to stay. I’m not convinced they would though. At least, not when Mazie and I move in. But maybe. Who knows?

So here’s the video I promised you last week. If you’re interested in geckos, and even if you’re not, you may find this a bit amusing.

My next video will be more photos of our home and new footage of our last visit. I promise. But don’t expect it anytime soon. :)

As always, thanks for reading. And thanks for watching. Tutto il meglio, Jan

Oh, and if you DO watch the video and like it, maybe give it a thumbs-up? If you don’t like it, send me an email or leave me a comment here. Any positive suggestions for how I can make these things better are greatly appreciated!

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National Geographic on mosquitoes