{Tiny Wonders} Nº 5

saving baby jackson

Aloha, I’m Ashley. I write about life through the lens of love for creative souls who seek to make life more beautiful. This is Tiny Wonders: Summer 24, where I share snippets of awe and reminders to pause in a fast-paced world.

Examining the angel’s trumpet tree I’d just pruned, my dog, the consummate hunter, pounced and dug her way into the pile of trimmings. She came out with something small and brown. 

“What do you have there?” I asked. She dropped it. It wasn’t a Madagascar day gecko; they’re lime-green. I expected it was a coqui frog because it was small and brown, but on closer examination, I saw it was too long and slender to be a frog. 

Baby Jackson! 

“Paka no!” I said and grabbed the tiny chameleon. She knows these particular reptiles are off limits, and she looked a little guilty. The instinct runs strong in this one. Thankfully, she’s got a soft mouth, and the Jackson wasn’t injured. At only 2.5” long, that’s an amazing feat. If it had been a gecko she’d have trot away with it like a proud pony (which she did do later). 

This little male, you can tell because of the tiny horns, scurried off my hand and onto an anthurium leaf, then the aloe, and finally made his way to the tippy top of the angel’s trumpet (where he originated). I marveled at him and his 360 vision for a while before wishing him well and removing my focus, if not a perceived threat, certainly pressure, from him — an actual tiny wonder. 

Exploration Invitation

What in your world is worth saving?