Work started out as a beautiful Autumnal morning down by the river. The ever changing sky was full of magic, from wispy cirrus to varied nimbus clouds and colours of pink and yellow. The river although overshadowed by the sound of the A3 had the same expectancy too. A song thrush sang in the far water meadow not downed out by the cars and lorries. A dunnock and wren joined in nearer to me. It felt good to be alive.
The morning ended with a tale of someone else’s nature connection. Something small and surprising to me especially. The person in question had in her time in America, seen with delight a small green lizard and watched its movements around the garden. She described it as only the length of my longest finger and watched it with rapt attention but didn’t see where it went. In the meantime her daughter had uncovered a pile on the ground when approached with a finger turned out to be a frog! It then hopped away over the ground. Then a small brown shape caught her eye and she realised that it was the same lizard resting on a cover on the garden fire. The same lizard had changed colour!
Her Grandson had found a green lizard once before and they thought wouldn’t it have been lovely if it was the same creature. (I believe this may be the lizard in question – see below)
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| Northern Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis) |
It was a moving tale and I was glad to have shared in her obvious joy. Of all the things from her time in America, more than any special visits out, this one small moment with this small creature had been the moment of all as she had discovered it herself. Does it matter that she didn’t know what kind of lizard? I think not, what mattered was that moment of connection. That joy and delight was something she felt she could share with me and I felt that too and because of that I wanted to pass it on.
Poignant moments like this need to be pondered and not just glossed over. I don’t know what ‘God significance’ there is in this instance but if we take it on face value just the fact that it was a special and moving moment should mean something.