About 13 years ago, my dear friend Anouk and I decided to spend a month in southwest Costa Rica in an open house in the jungle, about a 10 minute walk from the end of the last road before a wide expanse of jungle that stretches all the way to Panama. During that time we encountered a plethora of beasts that were both friend and foe. It's thanks to this period that I no longer have a fear of spiders, being that the ones we chased out of the house were poisonous and bigger than my head.
It's also of great help that I grew up with a scientist dad who had a fascination with winged and gilled things. My idyllic Indiana childhood consisted of a ton of fishing and insect collecting. I have fond memories of going out at night and in fields to find beetles and butterflies to then bring home and identify in his tomes. We had boxes and boxes of mounted beetles and such with latin name tags. I used to know those names, now only a few remain in my noggin, but the interest was planted deep and I genuinely love spotting beetles et al. I get to pass that onto my son, who is now totally enamored with all things winged.
This particular trait has come in quite handy here in Kamiyama, as it is a treasure trove of small life. Spiders, ants, flies, bees, beetles, bugs, the biggest crane flies I've ever seen, crickets and grasshoppers designed in the mind of a mad man, and the cutest little green frogs that spend the day on the balcony but hunt in the glare of our porch light at night. Hardly a day goes by that we don't see a Praying Mantis and the dragonflies and butterflies are so numerous and colorful and Hopper never tires of pointing them out before darting off in hot pursuit.
We also have a massive hunting spider living somewhere on the grounds that has only been glimpsed as its hulking shadow disappears behind the porch. I wasn't believed in my telling of the hand-sized shadow until Nik came in one night wide-eyed with a tale of his own.
All of this is of course a wonderful little ditty, made especially more so by the lurking foes. There are a myriad of poisonous snakes and salamanders, and then there is the dreaded centipede Scolopendra Subspinipes.
 |
| I took this photo! (yes with zoom lens) it was at least 6-7 inches long! |
This massive armored creeposaurus causes quite a bit of mayhem around these parts. Some of the locals even refuse to say its name out loud. They are venomous and quick to attack if threatened and we've heard many a story of encounters. We've seen them big and small so of course it goes without saying that we've taken necessary precautions like having a mozzie net for Hopper's bed and a venom sucker pen in the house. This ugly f^cker (ok, I will admit it's oddly beautiful with its shiny exterior in brazen colors) was in the bushes in front of our houses and was quickly exterminated with boiling water. Nik has had a few in his studio that he chopped with his pocket knife, the separate parts still running circles on his floor.
So my plans to go out and turn over stones and go digging around have been thwarted. There certainly hasn't been a lack of readily available lifeforms to gawk at, but Scolopendra will be respected as the victorious opponent and given its space.
 |
| somehow this guy got in his room |
 |
| seriously? |
 |
| aaahooooogaa! |
 |
| this mantis could not get enough, it crawled all over us until WE tired of IT |
 |
| yes this crab has hairy claws, Hopper wasn't keen |
 |
| massive grasshopper |
 |
| poisonous salamander with bright crimson belly |
 |
| nothin like havin sausages with your "all-done" (=dead) beetle friend |
