DRAGON DIARY: Born to be wild...and friendly

Wed 7^th March, 2012

What’s that I hear? Rain as I wake in the early morning darkness? And an sms coming through – garden work cancelled today so stay in bed. Oh well, re-arrange appointments yet again and another day on the computer.

I don’t really mind working on the computer when it’s cold and rainy outside – there is such a lot of fantastic things to learn and creative stuff to do drawing up garden ideas. But by lunchtime I’m feeling so fat and yuck because I’ve already eaten breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and snacks… It just seems so good to eat all the time.

What’s that I see? Sunlight? Yes, and it feels warmer. I take the opportunity to break free of the house – and the food - and go out the front in the direction of the sun rays streaming down on the wet front garden. My next door neighbour comes out at the same time – she had the same idea! We chatted and of course the conversation turned to Dragon stories. “Maybe it’s just my imagination,” she said, “but I was away last week, and upon returning home, ‘Lizzy’ (her resident Dragon) came running straight up to me!” Apparently, her husband and daughter stayed home but Lizzy was really pleased to see that she had come home. She said the greeting was like a happy dog. Her ‘Lizzy’ lays around all day on a hanging fern pot that contains the remnants of a long-gone Hare’s foot Fern – all soft and comfy. I think Lizzy is one happy lizard!

Only the other day Mum and a friend and I were chatting on the verandah with ‘our’ Harry sitting next to us looking interested in the conversation. Mum swears Harry talks to her! We were all commenting that it is curious that free (wild) Australian animals can seem to be such lovely, harmless good friends. Would you imagine a fox in Europe being friendly? Or a wild cat or dog? Cats and dogs can be dangerous even when they’re ‘tame’ let alone if they are wild – and I think NEVER become good harmless friends unless you take them from the mother soon after birth and train them.

We love our Harry though – he’s got character! Take last week for example: I saw a little baby Dragon on the path so I thought I’d try to photograph it by lying down on my belly – like I saw David Attenborough explain. Apparently it is a way of getting closer to wild animals because you are low down at their level and they are not so afraid of you.

Baby Dragon near homemade mini magic mushroom compost bin

So here I am creeping along on my belly photographing and getting closer (one day I’ll just get a better zoom lens), and I thought I was doing pretty good – I got to within about 40cm!, until I felt Harry come up behind me and brush past my leg. I lifted my leg to gently kick him out of the way – continuing to photograph the baby while I still had him in my view; then I feel Harry jump onto my back and just sit there!

At that point I felt a bit awkward... lying on the concrete path, carefully trying to sneek up on a baby Dragon, and I’ve suddenly got a blooming full-grown male one sitting on my back saying ‘Hellow’!

Just then the little one spotted a baby Dragon-sized grass hopper and ran off to catch it. I turned to look over my shoulder and Harry hopped over it! My camera was so close to his face, it was too close to even focus!