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.

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.

Tarantula in the Parking Lot

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Found this guy crossing my allergist’s semi-busy parking lot. I stopped and chaperoned him across the lot to ensure he didn’t get run over.

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When he got to the other side of the lot, he kept going back and forth, against the curb.

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I wasn’t sure if the square curbing confused him or if he was just getting his bearings, so I gave him some gentle assistance over the curb and he immediately headed into the landscaping, taking refuge in the shade of a cactus.

We don’t see many of these guys, so I always try to look after them if I can. Their days are usually numbered as it is.