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Friday, May 25, 2012

DANGER IN THE GARDEN

Show me a gardener that hasn't had an accident in the garden. Danger abounds for every one of us and that includes the critters that live in our gardens.


Do you think this anole was stalking? Or was he just sunbathing on the roof of the bee house. See the solitary bee hovering in front of the wood. He was busy building his nest in one of these holes and was clearly bothered by the anole. He did eventually move inside.
There we two lizard rescues in the garden this week. The first came from a lizard caught up n the netting I was using to train the snapdragon vine. I just happened to be cleaning up there when I saw him. It took me 5 minutes of cutting to unentangle him. The netting was so tightened around his neck it took some careful work to extricate him. Then I removed the netting which just about destroyed the plant. It was looking less than healthy so it was no great loss. Later I went back to check on the spot where I had left the lizard; he was gone.


The second rescue was a near drowning of this blue tailed skink. I scooped him out of the air conditioning drain bucket into which he had mysteriously fallen. He was stunned enough that I could rush into the house to get the camera. A few minute later he scurried away under the AC. I see many skinks but never a blue one. He has the lines on his head only so possibly he is a juvenile.
Then it was my turn. Working under the Spanish bayonet yucca I felt a stab and then a trickle down my face. Scalps do bleed!
Two vultures were circling overhead and when one landed on the parapet wall above me I decided it was time to go inside and mop up.


10 comments:

  1. I've had to do several rescues of my frogs--one jumped into a water tank and could not get out--he was exhausted from "treading" water. I put a cover on it now.
    Hope you cleaned your wound well. I never used to bother, but now that flesh eating bacteria seem to be garnering the headlines, I've become a bit more cautious.

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  2. Put a screen on that bucket!

    Love the end of this post, but sorry you got hurt.

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  3. Scalps bleed a lot! I'm always getting stabbed in the forehead by my yuccas - you bend down to look at something and .... OUCH! I once forgot I'd done it and went to the DIY store to pick something up. I wondered why everyone was giving me funny looks until I caught sight of myself in the glass door and realised I had blood all over my face. Be careful out there!

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  4. It's always unnerving when the turkey vultures start circling! That's the first blue skink I've seen...glad you were able to grab the camera.

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  5. Whew, I thought someone from Oregon bearing spiky gifts was there! I love the food chain, at least as long as I'm not a target, I suppose. That skink is a very nice, cool color...first time I've seen a photo of that!

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  6. Great post, Jenny... but perhaps before you go near the Spanish Bayonet again you should find a hard hat in the shape of an antique Spanish helmet!

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  7. What beautifull wildlife you have in your garden !!!

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  8. I enjoyed reading this post, you are like Snow White Jenny :) GREAT pictures as well, my little ones LOVED them!

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  9. Ha, well that was an exciting day in the garden alright! That shot of the bee is great. I think I would have gone scurrying inside after seeing that vulture too.

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