It is not often you have the honor to be present for and part of the Very First anything, so I am tickled all shades of pink to be here for The
Very First Ever Wildlife Wednesday, hostessed by Tina at
My Gardener Says. Or perhaps I should say all tickled all shades of green...
I've
posted here
several times in the
past about the
anoles that are regularly observed in our outdoor spaces. I've always thought they were very cool, and in another example of a Very First, the green anole, more scientifically referred to as Anolis carolinensis, recently became the first reptile to have its
genome completely sequenced.
I think they look like little dinosaurs, and everybody in our household regularly enjoys watching them posture, either to attract females,
or as in this case, to intimidate a potential predator.
Anoles don't always show up when or where you'd expect to see them. Or at least, not where I expect them. I came across this guy surfing the waves of the rosemary out front.
Looks like he's molting doesn't it? I'd read anoles molt regularly but I'd never seen one in process before.
As far as what I did expect, I placed a purple and orange birdhouse on our fence close to where a Grandpa Ott Morning Glory vine was growing. Initially, I was totally expecting to see this:
and with any luck, eventually flowers blooming close to the orange roof like this:
Wait a second! I had to take a closer look because I was certainly not expecting to see this:
Honestly if I saw an anole posed just so in a painting I'd never ever believe it came from life. I'd be certain it was a case of an artist really letting their imagination run wild. Because come on, a purple flower blooming right next to the orange roof with an anole juxtaposed provocatively just behind it? Naaah. That's a step too far, right? Never happen in a million years.
Except that it did, and by a stroke of sheer right-place-at-the-right-time good fortune, I was there to catch it.
The anole seemed irritated by my presence (though they all always look slightly annoyed to me) so still shaking my head in disbelief I quietly moved off and left him (her?) to whatever business it was conducting there on the fence.
Always welcome, and occasionally? A completely unexpected sight. Anoles!
A round of applause to Tina for not only proposing, but hostessing Wildlife Wednesday on the first Wednesday of each month. Our gardens are not only about the plant life we tend to but are equally about the wildlife we attend to. I'm happy to be here and sure hope you'll join in!
