Spiny Lizard in our Wandering Jew

Spiny Lizard in our Wandering Jew

Went out onto the back porch to water the plants tonight and found this guy hanging out in the pot of Wandering Jew.  He may not look it here, but he is not small.  His body, tip of his nose to his hind legs, is about as long as my hand, finger tips to wrist.  Even so, I didn’t see him until I started putting water into the pot.  I’m not sure he appreciated the bath.

Granddady Mantis in our Front Yard

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As mantis’ around here go, this guy was huge!  He was about four inches long.  Even so, it was difficult to get a good picture of him because he kept swiveling his head around to keep an eye on me and was lightly swaying in a non-existent breeze.

Double Rainbow on Drive Home

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Saw this double rainbow today while on my way back home from running errands.  The picture doesn’t do it justice.  Every time I looked at it, it was even brighter than the time before — this, from the color-blind guy.  I’m sure it looks even better to you.

Essssscorted across the Road

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Driving home Wednesday morning, when I turned onto our street, I found this guy sunning in the middle of the lane. Unfortunately, this is how a lot of them die, as people don’t see them, or worse, just don’t care. I got out of the car and escorted him across the road and into the brush to keep him safe. Hopefully he went on to find a safer place to bask in the warmth of the morning Sun.

Vissssssitor on the Porch

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I found this guy lounging on the back porch on Monday, just chilling in the corner. I made sure the dog left him alone and allowed him to stay as long as he needed to before he headed off to wherever it was he needed to go next.

View from the Mountain

View from the Mountain
We started our hike on a nearby desert mountain trail quite a bit later than usual, but the night was warm with a cool wind, and the remains of the sunset all that more dramatic with the lights on.

Clouds building North of Phoenix

Clouds building North of Phoenix
The clouds regularly come in from the North, but bunch up at the mountains just above Carefree highway. Unless we’re in for a huge storm, they won’t continue into Phoenix, but will slide off to the East and follow the mountains South until finally breaking loose over Mesa.  Its a real shame when they’re raining.

Trapdoor Spider found on our Porch

Trapdoor Spider on our Porch
Found this guy on our back porch tonight. He’s just a bit larger than a quarter — perhaps the size of a half-dollar. We think he’s a trapdoor spider, but it’s unusual to see one out and about. They normally hide in their hole, behind a trapdoor, waiting to snatch prey as it passes by. So no telling how he ended up on our porch — perhaps something ran him out of his lair?

Here he is from another angle: Trapdoor Spider on our Porch