Z is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

Z is for Zoog the Mongoose
 And no I didn't give him a name beginning with Z just to have a Z word for the Challenge!

Do not be fooled by anything you think resembles cuteness. The small Indian mongoose was brought into the Caribbean in the hopes of getting rid of the rats, not snakes which are few and harmless. However the two scavengers live in harmony as rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal.
They are not rodents, but more closely related to civet cats.
 Mongooses are scavengers and, without a natural predator, have been free to decimate many native species of reptile, bird and small mammal.
They live in burrows and I have never seen one climb a tree.

Over the last 20 years or so, there's been a marked decline in their population. I'm not sure of the cause. I've heard (but have nothing to prove it) that there was a disease that radically decreased their numbers. When I was growing up, iguanas were seldom seen but mongooses were everywhere. You'd see them like one sees squirrels. But now it's the other way around. Iguanas have come back because there aren't as many mongooses eating their eggs. However, it also means there are more feral chickens because... there aren't as many mongooses eating their eggs.

The mongoose has gained some notoriety in Caribbean folklore as a sly trickster. He has even had  songs written about him. One I remember from my childhood is this one by Lord Invader. I have included the words.
"Sly mongoose, only dog know your name."

There was a competition in America
With Houdini and Destroyer
Houdini sang Adolf Hitler
And yet they said that Houdini was the winner
What he won?

Chorus:
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing the chorus-
Sly Mongoose
-everybody-
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.

Then he challenge the Growler
And the Growler sand a hot number
Growler told the Houdini
He gonna win him with this melody,
What it was: “Old lady, you’re mashing my toe,”
“Oh lady, stop it isn’t”
And yet he won him with,

Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing it Macbeth-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.

So as I’m Lord Invader, I said
“I can’t lose my name in America”,
I entered the competition,
And I sang a hot composition.
What it was: “Prisoner leve [Prisoner arise]
“Mete limier bai [Put a light]
and Yet he won me with

Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-everybody 
Only dog know your name
-Duke of Iron-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.

Hope you've enjoyed this year's A to Z Challenge!

Y is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

Y is for Yowl

"Up on the hillside a cat yowled."

Shades of Dylan's song All Along the Watchtower
"Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl..."

It's ominous.

X is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

X is for eXodus
A bit of a cheat here, but who doesn't when it comes to the letter X?
Long before Marvin was born, a feral cat came to Stone Wall in the Garden by the Sea and there was a horrible massacre. All were killed, save for one lizard.
That one lizard was the very young Prince Leopold.

 He makes the bold decision to go Over the Hill in search of other lizards in the hopes of convincing them to return to Stone Wall and recolonize the Garden.
After a harrowing journey he is successful. The lizards he takes back to
Stone Wall are called The Leaving Lizards.
 It remains the largest and only migration of lizards ever know to have happened.

W is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

W is for Wild Cat

Every story has to have an antagonist. In A Lizard's Tail it's a wild, or feral, cat that has come into the Garden and threatens the lives of all who live there.
This is not your cuddly pet. This is a dangerous enemy.

V is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

V is for Vanity
All is vanity.
Vanity is being overly proud in your appearance, qualities, abilities, and good looks.
Marvin is all that.
He's absolutely sure he has a destiny and will be hero.
He is extremely fond of his beautiful long tail.
He boasts and talks about these two things all the time.

U is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

U is for Unconditional Love

There is one character in A Lizard's Tail who gives his life in order to save the colony of lizards who live at Stone Wall in the Garden by the Sea.
THAT is unconditional love.

There is also the Dragon Spirit, the kind and benevolent Creator Being, that all lizards believe in.

T is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

T is for Tamarind

The Sacred Nursery, where mother lizards go to lay their eggs, is hidden within the log of a long dead tamarind tree that was blown down in a terrible hurricane. Tamarinds can live many 100s of years and were thought of as spirit trees. They were trees where people gathered under cool feathery shade to have resolve issues and tell stories. I've always been partial to tamarinds.

The brown pods are a delightfully sour fruit. They are ingredients in things like 

BBQ sauce and marinades.

 The flowers look kind of like orchid sprays.

S is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

S is for Stone Wall 

in the Garden by the Sea 

This is Marvin's home, a long abandoned human garden, surrounded by a hand stacked stone wall. It is a safe and Edenic-like place. That is, until a feral cat threatens destruction.

 S is also for Scorpions
Marvin has to always be on the lookout for she-beasts and he-beasts. They are dangerous enemies.

R is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

R is for Rhyme

There's a little rhyme that Marvin keeps hearing. At least he thinks he's hearing it. It could just be the wind in the palm trees or it could just be in his head. He hears it and doesn't hear it, it's familiar and it isn't familiar. 

"Follow the wind.
Follow the way.
Follow the night
As the night follows day."

What could it possibly mean?

Q is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

Q is for Questions

Marvin tortures himself playing the what-if game. What if he meets up with a mongoose? Or the cat? What if he can't find his way Over the Hill? What if he can't find the Great Iguana? Or the Dog? Or, what if he finds the dog and the dog won't help?

These are just of a few of the questions our hero asks himself.

P is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

P is for Prince Leopold

Although we never "see" Prince Leopold, I imagine him as a fine, handsome male with a magnificent ridge. This is how I think Marvin will look once he has fully grown.

P is also for The Palm Tree Forest

A place of restful peace.

O is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

O is for Old Man Ocean

Old Man Ocean can often be heard muttering to himself. "Wash the shore. Wash the sand. Pile it here. Pile it there. Smooth it out. Roll the rocks. Roll the shells. Wash the shore. Wash the sand." His voice is a constant soothing background noise at Stone Wall in the Garden by the Sea.

N is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

N is for Nickolas the Nighthawk

As you can see, Nickolas is not really a hawk. What he is, is a solitary bird who flies at night, feeding on insects. Being a loner, Nickolas makes the perfect nighttime guard. 

I remember as a kid as we drove home at night, how excited we would get when we'd see a nighthawk swoop out of the dark to snatch up insects attracted by our head lights. Sometimes a bird would follow us a little ways, but never for very long. Three or four swoops was about all we could expect.

M is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

M is  for Marvin
That's Marvin P. Tinckleberry, our hero, who is entirely too full of himself.

M is also for

Melodian

and

Melodia

the Mockingbirds

L is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

L is for the Lovely Leeza

Leeza is a possible love interest. She has some issues of her own to deal with, like being quick to judge. But her liquid brown eyes cause Marvin to become mostly tongue-tied in her presence.

K is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

K is for Kismet

Kismet is about destiny, about fate.
From the moment he hatches Marvin knows he has a destiny. He is quite boastful about it too, which makes him an easy target to be teased by Alfred, George and Fred. But Marvin doesn't care what other lizards think. He knows the truth. He's destined from greatness.

The Three Fates.