"Wanda, come and look at what is in our yard." My neighbor Sandy was standing at the front door yesterday noon with this look of wonder on her face.
A walk across the street and into the neighbor's side yard revealed the presence of a large, lumbering lizard called a gila monster. With orange and gray bead like skin, this critter was crawling along the wall, trying to get back to its desert habitat.
The beaded surface of the skin is raised and each segment is usually a single color. Look closely in this photo and you can see the hexagon shape of the grandmother's flower garden quilt pattern in the center of this guy's back.
One website says that the gila monsters are emerging from hibernation about now, mid March, here in the desert. I'm guessing that this critter is hungry and is on the prowl for a bird's nest full of eggs, something to satisfy a three month hunger.
To read more about the gila monster on the website of the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, click HERE.
Oh, and did I say that I watch where I walk more carefully after meeting this guy?
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