It has been such a wonderful summer with seven hummingbirds constantly fighting over the trailing petunias and feeders. Three had bright red chests and the other four were a gorgeous shimmering olive green. All of a sudden last Thursday, they were gone. Surely this must be a sign that fall has arrived.
Just this last weekend I saw my first snakes of the season, two of them dead on the side of the road. But, if you want to still take in some local animals there are plenty of lizards right here at the end of Johnson Lane. Drive to the end of the pavement and turn right in the wash then keep going, veer right at the top of the hill then continue on before the blue painted rock on the left. You will see a very rocky hillside, that's where a lot of them are.
The Great Basin horned toad or what we call horny toads, the Western collared lizard, the Western fence lizard also known as a blue belly lizard, the leopard lizard and the whip-tailed lizard.
My children think the horny toad is the easiest to catch because most of them seem very docile. The horny toad is a good one to have in your yard because they eat ants and we all know in Johnson Lane we have more than a few ants. They also eat grasshoppers, beetles, termites and other small insects. It sounds to me like I should be raising horny toads in my backyard. I don't know if the variety we have here can squirt blood up to three feet from its eyes but they defiantly puff up when they feel threatened. That's why people think they look like a toad.
The Western fence or blue belly lizard is also easy to identify because of its... blue belly, of course. This is the one I saw the most, sunbathing on the rocks. It is said that he is easy pickings for birds and snakes because of how much they sunbathe. I like them because besides insects, they eat spiders.
The whip-tailed lizard is by far the most interesting as far as how fast it can run. It uses its long tail to propel it 50 to a 100 feet and can run faster then we can. What's weird about the whip-tailed is he doesn't climb rocks at all.
Come on out to the rocky areas before fall really sets in because then the lizards will hibernate. Remember to bring your camera. It is easy to get lots of up close photos of several different types.
n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
