Homework / test English to Spanish Art/Literary Poetry & Literature guidebook

Caña played a part in a wildlife first in our garden in July 2012. My wife was passing a raised bed occupied by climbing French beans that were supported by a frame made from parts of an old pergola and caña.The pergola had been destroyed by wind a few years earlier but that’s another story. As she walked past the bed she heard a soft thud and there was a vivid green creature, 20 cm long, with a shield-like head, lying on the ground: our first ever chameleon. Maybe it had lost its hold in surprise as she appeared. Over the subsequent minutes it clambered slowly back up the caña, watching us as we tried to manoeuvre into position with our cameras. Its legs were surprisingly thin for its size but it moved with ease, deliberately placing its odd club-like feet and using its long prehensile tail for grasping. Its skin, although hide might be a better word, is armoured over its entire area with tough-looking green bobbles and ridges. Most strange though, is the face. A chameleon’s large bulbous eyes, apart from the pupil, are also covered in the green armour but they swivel to keep a check on the situation. The large horizontal mouth extends far back into the head, two ridges extend from just above the mouth back over the eyes, and the back of the head has a hard ruff. The whole combination suggests something prehistoric and gives the creature a lugubrious, world-weary expression that can’t help but bring a smile to the onlooker.