The Game of Life
The journey would begin under home roof in March 2020, together with confined work, school and family. Closed school playgrounds lead us to look for a different way to put our children burning calories and walking up and down the Monsanto Forest Park, in Lisbon (Portugal). A 10-minute walk to start talking to the trees would be the perfect solution to misfortune.
In the first trip in the park with my children, António & Nono, we met a timid creature that shaped our relationship with this forest: the fire salamander, a star on the stages of Europe. It is dressed with a beautiful and strong skin, with yellow and red spots. That’s why ingenious people are often afraid of them. Some fanatics even believe that salamanders are an incarnation of the Devil.
So, little by little, we became aware that the Monsanto Forest is a paradise to these amphibious. We found over 30 adults in a year. Despite days and days of rain, mud and coronavirus, there would be no excuse for us to stay at home!
At the end of January, when we were returning home, António noticed a strange waving in a small puddle dug by the tires of patrol cars, that are the only vehicles allowed to move on those roads. After a closer look, we found that they were salamander tadpoles. Unlike most amphibians that lay eggs, the fire salamander is ovoviviparous, and that means that their eggs are hatched inside the mother's body, giving birth to the larvae. So, we understood that, being so small, the creatures had been released last night and that some were dead. Police cars, bicycles, dogs, children in rubber boots, moving on the pools, would carelessly crush many of these poor animals.
We then had a brilliant idea: the Tupperware used to transport energy cookies ended up saving 20 larvae that we patiently captured one by one. My wife, Sophia, had another good idea. She went to the supermarket next day and found a beautiful terrarium with perfect conditions to make these new pets happy. Idea after idea, we realized that these creatures needed live food like aquatic worms. Luck after luck, it came to our brilliant minds that there were a few ponds in the large green park right in front of our apartment. Great! Nono and António didn't hesitate a second in accomplishing the crazy task of catching live worms in the park every day.
That worked for a few days. Unfortunately, the larvae of the fire salamander eat a lot. We searched Google once again and found that it would be possible to buy live food online like wonderful worms. Although we did it through a national website, you can now buy live worms along with a good deep learning book on Amazon!
A month and a few days have passed since the rescue and some tadpoles are now finishing their metamorphic process, releasing salamander gills, changing the color pattern and coming out of the water along a suitable ramp.
This evolution came at a price and we ended up with an accident. Our cat appeared joyfully with a salamander in her mouth. After checking the population living in the aquarium, we found that two specimens were missing. The lesson has been learned. The aquarium lid is now locked to prevent nocturnal predators, while the young salamanders rest in peace, in a dry area. We now carry out the noble task of choosing which salamanders will have to live outside the water and release them near the place where they were rescued, faraway of dangerous puddles.
Conclusion
Software development that requires total concentration is especially demanding. Definitely, it is not compatible with "tantrum tasks" running in the background. I often find myself working hard after sending my kids to bed. Being exhausted physically and mentally and then feeling a breeze around you, raindrops hitting your face or smelling the dew in an urban forest, begins to assume proportions unthinkable until very recently for many.
The energy I need to deal with my children and nurture my professional life at the same time is neither a fatality nor a privilege. Maybe you feel the same way. Perhaps you have children like mine, who will answer for you in the future. Do not hesitate. Play the Game of Life with them!