Christinus Marmoratus- Marbled Gecko

This morning, while cleaning the fire place, lifted the fender and there underneath was the lizard which had rushed into the room with me the other night. Getting only a fleeting glimps of it  at that stage I mistakenly thought it might be a juvenile bearded dragon. So I captured him with my spider catching equipment and popped him into a big jar to photograph him. He turned out to be a marbled gecko. His little padded feet are very noticeable in the photograph and his markings just lovely.He seemed much larger the other night when he rushed in with me but he is quite small.

 We have them on occasions climbing up the windows in the nights when there are a lot of insects attracted to the light and I suppose he was near the door the other night because there were a lot of moths about.Apparently they live in little groups according to some information I found and make quite good little pets. I had rather they lived in the garden and did their own thing there, I would worry I may feed it the wrong thing and it might perish, besides if they are community living creatures they would miss company of their own kind....

I set it free in the garden but later found that they don't like the sun and perhaps that is why it is a different colour amongst the leaf litter.
They aggregate under rocks in the hot weather and some of the aggregations can contain ten individuals. They are also evidently territorial and each group will contain a male. I am sure they would do a lot of good in the garden. Some time ago I did see a larger skink than the usual drop tail skinks which we do have now, spaced throughout the garden.

I have finished the lairy butterfly batwing jumper and put the corded edging around it instead of bands. The yarns are a mixture of cotton and fine wool. The colours mix well and give interesting variations in the butterfly pattern.
This afternoon , after voting and then doing the mowing with the big mower to get the weeds down and more manageable
( the place now looks like a badly clipped horse, in fact it reminds me of an ad on TV where a farmer shears his sheep and then the dog, leaving them all ragged and the dog ashamed of himself, the inference being that the farmer needs glasses ) I needed to do something more gentle.
So gathered fine cotton yarns for the background and some attractive ribbon yarn for the weaving in yarn, I did a swatch for a top or two which I want to make for the coming warmer weather.I do enjoy knit-weaving though the butterfly batwing is a fairisle pattern.The necklace on the black jumper has a Chinese button knot and recycled beads.

8th September
Yesterday afternoon we voted in the old Agricultural Hall and in the evening we watched the fascinating computer graphics about the scores of electorates of the country on the ABC...
...so, this morning we have a new government and exchanged one glorious leader for another...life will go on much the same for us mere mortals and we will grumble and grizzle like the Israelites in the desert.....but, did the tiles in the bathroom look whiter and shinier this morning, the garden more colourful and less like a badly clipped horse... and I am sure our stud Merino ewes will produce twin lambs in the coming autumn....