Old Fritz . . .

I should say "Old Fritzina" is no longer with us.  We have watched and waited for quite a while and lots of her children are around but she is not.  She did not appear this spring.  She looked a little worse for wear last seen in the fall and has lived out her life span.

But there are plenty of progeny around.  We even saw one on the back patio extension like she used to locate herself.  It was medium sized lizard so is probably on its second year of life having survived the winter.  Alas there are no crickets back there, they have all been consumed, so with a lack of food source, junior did not stick around.

We see them out front a lot, along the side walk and even on the sun reflecting screens on the windows out front on occasion.  I scared one away from the garage door a few days ago.  They like to hunt in the garage as there are a lot of critters that creep in during the winter.  With the fence lizards around there is no safe heaven in the garage for the insects.

We do not have any cats around now days either.  The neighbor inadvertently killed their last cat.  So we do not have any roaming carnivores to eat our lizards up.  That is a good thing, though I did not want to see the little cat get killed.  She got caught in the garage door and I had to dispose of her.  The neighbor was in tears but someone had to clean up.

So far now we have birds and squirrels to tend with along with lizards.  We also have our usual night visitors; possums, raccoons, maybe an armadillo and of course the ever present super intelligent foxes.  I have seen a fox carry off a peach in his/her mouth.  Granted it was not a giant peach but it was bigger than a golf ball. They, the foxes, will eat almost anything.

We have all kinds of critters pass though.  Wild cats (Bob Cats) or better known as Lynxes,  Coyotes are every where, even an occasional turkey passes by.   Some claim recently to have seen small mountain lions though they could be large bob cats.  Bob cats, or wild cats, do grow tails just not as long or as prominent as other cats do.

Such is living on the edge of suburbia.  The lake attracts the animals, it is there consistent water source.  We see deer all the time.  They are a nuisance.  Eat all the flowers, color is their favorite food.