Fearless Lizard

This dude’s new and it’s unusual to see one this small this late in the year. Maybe six inches long, it sure was a pretty one. And utterly fearless!

Normally when they’re smaller-ish they’re skittish and will bail into the bushes at the slightest movement. It was outside the doors from the kitchen and I figured it would bail the second I turned back inside to grab the camera. Nope, it’s still there when I came back out and it never twitched, even when I got within maybe three feet of it and walked all the way around to get a good view of all sides.

I’m no expert, but my observation has been that we get a ton of the teeny tiny hatchlings in the spring, some that survive and get to this size in the summer, and by fall only the bigger survivors are still around. But I’e got some hatchlings in the front yard in the last couple of weeks, so it seems that cycle has been messed up.

The markings on its back are great. This is almost certainly a “blue belly,” but it was keeping that part of its anatomy hidden.

Another sign that it’s younger is the fact that it has all of its pieces. No missing toes or tail that I can see.

I thought it was being fearless in never moving, but it could have just been terrified and hoping that I didn’t see it. Not the best strategy. He’s brownish, on a brownish sidewalk, but he’s not that stealthy.

The other option was that he was toasty warm (it’s been cool and cloudy) and decided if he was going to die, he was going to do it warm. I can really respect that, not that I was going to harm him in any way to begin with.

Go! Reproduce! Stay warm! Eat ants! Get bigger!

You have nothing to fear from me! Now, those crows, ravens, hawks, mockingbirds, and scrub jays – they’re not taking pictures, they want to invite you to lunch!