One of my greatest pleasures is seeing something new (to me) in the garden. I run to my books or the internet to learn what it is. This was the latest.
This is an Eastern Fence Lizard that appeared on the porch rail yesterday. It was very patient as I tried to get close enough for a good shot. This guy was very small so I had to get real close! My guess is less than 3" (the rail is 1-1/4") nose to tail. According to the source, they lay eggs in late summer, so this one is probably not very old. It was so cute!
When I first moved down here, I began to see Five-lined Skinks. That was fun. We don't have lizards scurrying around in plain sight up north. You have to search hard to even see one, and know where to look, and I had never seen a lizard anywhere. The first skinks I saw down here were actually on the outside wall of the motel I stayed in while searching for my new home. Once I got settled in here, they were everywhere, but I saw them most on the porch or old shed.
This is an especially pretty lizard. The juveniles have a bright blue tail. I once dug up a skink nest while weeding. First the mother appeared, and then I saw I had dug up eggs. That was startling, and I felt real bad. I quickly covered them back up, and hoped they survived my clumsiness.
This next shot isn't something new, but the situation was.
This Tawny Emperor spent a lot of time walking around on the window glass. So I spent a lot of time shooting it. A different perspective, for sure.
I keep notebooks that list all the species I've identified, most since I've been here. One for fauna, one for flora. This new lizard brings the "Beasties" list (fur and scales) to 12. I've ID'd over 50 birds, and 29 flutterbies. Flutterbies include butterflies, moths, and a few other interesting insects like Praying Mantis and Cicadas. Speaking of that, this is the time of year I usually see big Praying Mantis. Haven't seen one yet, but fall garden cleanup usually shakes some out of hiding.
The weather has been beautiful! Perfect! Just right for garden work. I've been working at getting perennials potted up for the eventual move. Still no progress in that department, and I fear this latest government fiasco will impact the real estate market even more. But I continue to plug along as though I will be moving soon.
Something that has slowed me down a little is spiders. I really really hate spiders. I can tolerate little ones, but not big ones. I never realized this before, but apparently orb weavers are most active in late summer. I don't remember seeing them earlier in the year. Now there are way too many enormous orb webs where I want to go in the gardens. You can see them best in early morning before the dew has dried. The rising sun lights them up. The biggest orb weaver is the Golden Garden Spider, which as spiders go, is not ugly, but it is BIG. There's a couple of their webs in the gardens right now. Then there's a smaller ugly brown one that likes to spin under the porch roof. As long as it stays out of my way, I try to ignore it. I'm going to have to figure out a way to remove the one Golden pretty soon. I really need to get in that garden, and she's smack dab in the middle of it, and her web stretches about 3 feet. No, not going to kill her. Much as I hate spiders, I hate smashing big ones (gross!) almost as much, and this is not a dangerous spider. I'll get her onto a stick or something (a long one!) and relocate her.
tnt
Natureschild
