Door Dragon

Today the door dragon was on guard.

Can you see him? I mean, the clouds were gorgeous just before sunset, the view over Castle Peak as lovely as ever. But there’s a dragon there.

So he’s a relatively tiny dragon, but he’s on guard nonetheless! He’s not just there for the warm sidewalk and near infrared radiation.

He’s also there to eat! He doesn’t do this for his health. The presence of hawks, mockingbirds, and various other predators have a bearing on the odds of surviving the afternoon out there somewhat in the open. But right there along the far edge of the sidewalk… See it? Dinner on the hoof!

Even under the best of times there are ants everywhere here. With it as dry as it is now, the worst drought in decades and threatening to become the worst in recorded history, the ants are everywhere.

And while that sucks for us, it’s a feast for the fence lizards! So let him sploot out there on the porch, I won’t bother him. Let him eat his fill of ants any day.

Just watch out for the hawks. And the mockingbirds. And all of the other critters higher up on the food chain in that whole circle-of-life thing.