Back Yard Critters

Besides the usual squirrels, birds and wasps we occasionally get other visitors outside our sliders.  Mom and dad have been spending extra time out on the deck, and one fine sunny day recently this little guy stopped by. 

We believe this is an anole lizard, and we've seen them scuttling across the deck rails and scaling the brick exterior many times.  This one didn't seem to have a problem being so close to where mom and dad were sunning, and I'm a little bit confused. 

Now, I've learned that these guys puff out their throats (dewlap, I believe it's called) in a magnificently colored bubble if they feel threatened, to establish territory or, um in an attempt to find a mate.  Let me just say the humans were out there first, and had all their crap spread out (sunblock, blanket, books, solar lights, pillows, etc.) so it should've been pretty clear to him that the territory thing was already settled once he arrived.  Not to mention the fact that they were just lying there somewhat motionless, which rules out the threat thing.  So that leaves mating.  Let me just say that maybe to each other they're attractive what with their barely-covered slightly overweight bods (payback, dad/sorry mom) and lotion-slathered shiny skin, but I'm pretty sure the poor little green guy is barking up the wrong tree if he thinks he's going to find a mate out there.  Just sayin'.

Dad took a gazillion shots of this guy in an attempt to get a decent one with his dewlap fully inflated (the lizard, not dad), and we think these aren't too shabby considering they were snapped with dad's old Samsung cheapy.

Below is a more recent photo, and if you squint real hard you can see the critter down low on a vertical corner rail over on the left.  He and I were locked in a stare-down from opposite sides of the deck, though I got bored after only a few seconds and decided I needed to bathe.

Signs

Mom and dad have been doing their daily walks when dad's on his "home" portion of his new schedule, and they saw these signs in front of a couple of houses nearby.

  All in all they pretty much sum up the current state of things.  What do you think?

And So It Goes

The old girl's like a dog, only she takes it a step further.  Asks to go out.  Wants back in.  Asks to go out.  Wants back in.  

Often, she'll sit at the sliders alternating glances between the outdoors and one of us, her way of asking to be let out.  She especially loves the rainy days, lapping endlessly at the dripping deck furniture.  Even more often she merely wants the best of both worlds, wanting to be let out but wanting the slider to stay open so she can come and go at her leisure. 

In the event we give in to this, she'll spend her time after coming back inside chasing and playing with the random bug that has managed to make its way in.  I suppose we should look at it in a positive light seeing as how it's probably the most exercise she gets in a typical day.