An unexpected visitor

And, so just why does the Sson show up at my new abode with a watering container from my former potted garden? Turns out that when I looked into the jug, there at the bottom was probably the first skink -- and likely the first lizard of any sort -- to show up in this particular assisted living apartment.

No, he didn't move in with me. Sson courteously removed said lizard back to the plot of dirt where he -- and several fellows -- were uncovered. Do note that there are two other reptilian critters in addition to the highly polished, photogenic skinks in the picture below.

Don't know if these (above, below) pix are of my visitor or one of his/her brothers. However, being as I now live on the second floor, I doubt if I'll be visited by such lizards as these in the foreseeable future. Until the Sson's next visit, that is.

Error message just in from the Sson!!!

I doofed on my semi-hazy ID of that lizard I had done brought over to you
the other day!

Actually, NO SKINK was he at all, but rather an ALLIGATOR LIZARD!

Looked it up today whence you posted it on your blog...

Most likely, it be the so-called "Arizona alligator lizard" or "Madrean
Alligator Lizard".

It's formal "scientific" name is Elgaria kingii.

According to at least one semi-official site (Anapsid.org), Elgaria was
formerly called Gerrhontus- oh, how we do love our names and occasional
changing thereof in biology...

Please jump on to your blog and tell all that the ol' Sson biologist has
corrected himself!

The "Skink" has wonderfully transformed into an alligator!

Leapin' lizards not

No, I don't often blog about local lizards. There are reasons.

Not only do lizards definitely not leap -- but they are very cautious little guys who are unlikely to hold still for a proper photographic composition. Which is why I was most pleased to receive the upper picture, labeled skink, from my neighbor today. He's definitely bigger than that pine cone above, if such a comparison can be made. Quite unlike the little guy below, one of many babes I see skittering about; he may have been all of 1-1/2 inches long, nose to the end of his tail. I was very lucky to get the photo; lizards don't even do their push-ups when I'm around with my camera, much less wait around while I get a tape measure or US quarter for a proper size comparison!

Note: Probably won't be here tomorrow night -- I've got an outpatient procedure in the morning and don't plan on staying up late. BTW, don't you hate the medical use of the word procedure? It makes even the most onerous surgery sound trivial.

Critter time with the Sson & family

When Sson and family arrive, we usually have at least one small critter scene. One year it was a spade foot toad. This year, an alligator lizard. All credit goes to the Yoda cat. Twice he hunted down and caught the youngling . It was in the house. He was relieved of his catch almost immediately, of course, and the animal was popped into the handiest container in the kitchen.

Out came the cameras. GD (above) and GS (below). Me, too, of course.

Sson shoots a close-up with a long lens.

Next, he picks up the little fellow for another close in shot.

And kindly gives me a chance at a closeup, too.

Other critters that were collected this visit: a big, muscular pine borer beetle (no, not the kind that kills the trees, but the kind who bores into trees already dead) and (below) a silvery looking grasshopper. I think an Oak Creek tadpole resided in the hallway for a day or so also before heading for a new life in Louisiana on Wednesday.

Linkage: First off, the July Festival of the Trees, where Walking Prescott rates a mention. Then, another Crown King fire picture, this one by Dagny showing a ghostly Thumb Butte nearly hidden by the smoke. Followed by a fascinating bit of agricultural practice -- Maria Langer, a writer of computer books and a chopper pilot from Wickenburg, signed on to fly over Washington state cherry orchards to help dry the ripening fruit following rains. Apparently if the fruit stays wet, it may crack open, thus ruining the crop. Also: please go back a few posts to read the final comment which came in last night from a native son who talks a bit about the old days in Prescott. He also wants to know just when the local Cornet store closed. I know it was after we arrived in the area in aught-81.

Critters updated

Of course, we'll never know just what happened. Last evening, well after nightfall, I heard the local ravens shouting -- a very unusual event. My take? I suspect that the neighborhood raccoons were raiding a nest. Today I found out that the dawg next door alerted his family of nefarious doings in the wee hours. They've still no idea what was up. One more mystery.

However, this hawk was very much out in the open, if an extra long shot away, on that recent outing to the Santa Maria river. I handed the camera to Dana who took a fine, steady picture tho the lens was stretched a bit beyond its resolving power (below).

Meanwhile, back in the city, the acorn woodpeckers have been around and about.

And the last bird note: a tiny nest I discovered while photographing trees as they leaf out. My guess is that it was built by hummingbirds.

In the mammal department: a friend who hunts passed along this picture, taken at night by an automatic camera set-up at his regular haunt over near Camp Wood. It's a ringtail, first cousin to the raccoon. I checked my references and this critter is indeed found as high as 6000 ft. in the Prescott area, preferably in rocky locations. The one time I saw a real live ringtail in nature was down in the Agua Fria canyon near Badger Springs. And in the daytime -- very unusual for this critter who's active at night. Ringtails were sometimes tamed by old-time miners as pets.

Another friend, Bobbi, contributed this picture of a new beaver dam at Stillman Lake. She adds that as many as five young beavers have moved into the Verde headwaters. They got ambitious, too (below), tackling a tree that's 12-15" in diameter. Very interesting: the LH and I found evidence of beavers at King Springs over in nearby Hell Canyon, but that is the only place we ever noted beaver-cut trees in the Upper Verde area.


And here's a relic from the previous owners of my building: a beaver-cut chunk of tree that was mounted over one of the doorways.

A week ago, this mourning cloak butterfly was patrolling out front along the road. The day was chilly and, periodically, the critter would alight, wings spread and then close them, soaking up sunlight and warmth. I never did see him/her locate -- or look for -- a flower.


And, in the reptile corner, a picture of one of my many little lizards who actually sat still long enough for a portrait. The Max cat is big on chasing (and catching) lizards, BTW.

The finale: an H.M. (Highly Magnified) horned toad replica I found at Watters on a recent visit. How could I resist?

Critter Links: Read all about the chicken whisperer over at The One Acre Wood; Escaping Suburbia posted a cool osprey picture and World Photos offers swans and geese along the River Main in Germany (Steve also has a rival grey squirrel visitor at The Red Squirrel. You might also find the Daily Mammal and the Nature Blog Network of interest. If you have the time! There's just a wealth of Good Stuff out there...